Protection the Raditz Way

My Stepfather\'s a Saiyan named Raditz

Disclaimer: I don\'t own Dragon Ball Z, Toriyama does. I don\'t own Full Metal Alchemist, Amniplex does. Funimation distributes and holds rights to both shows. I own Atomique, Fermi, and Bohr. I don\'t get paid for this, and it\'s a work of fan fiction that means no harm.

Chapter 4 Bardock\'s Legacy
***

\"Enough you two,\" Raditz snapped. \"Listen to me, and listen well. I have NO intention of leaving you by my own volition. Your mother left me in your care and it would be against my warrior\'s honor to be so foolish.\"

\"See, I told you he wouldn\'t leave us,\" Fermi snorted.

\"Mommy left us,\" said Bohr quietly.

\"She didn\'t want to do it, dummy,\" Fermi rolled his eyes.

\"I know but they always leave,\" said Bohr, wiping tears from his eyes.

\"Stop talking such nonsense,\" Raditz scolded him, his voice gruff but kind. \"Your mother and I are mates and as such you\'re family to me. It\'s Saiyan tradition for a male to adopt the children of a widowed female he mates. And I mated with your mother fully intending to care for you and train you to fight as warriors.\"

\"I\'m glad,\" Bohr said as he suddenly wrapped his arms around Raditz\'s neck in a fierce hug.

\"Ugh that\'s mushy, you know he hates that,\" Fermi made a face.

\"It\'s an earth tradition that I will honor,\" Raditz said quietly, ruffling Fermi\'s hair. \"And it is accepted between my brother and me.\"

\"Vegeta-sama said hugging and stuff like that was what women did,\" said Fermi quietly.

\"He\'s a Prince, that\'s why he\'s so like that. He hasta be,\" Bohr interrupted.

\"I thought Saiyans thought hugging was sissy,\" Fermi said quietly.

\"Vegeta-sama hugs Onisan Trunks when people aren\'t looking,\" said Bohr.

\"Oh,\" Fermi said. He glanced back and forth, and then scrambled into Raditz\'s lap to squeeze him in a chokehold that would strangle a human. Raditz tentatively wrapped an arm around the other boy, holding him close. It felt awkward, but nice to feel their body heat against them, and it suddenly reminded him of his mother grabbing him up in an embrace.

\"Father did not do this,\" Raditz thought to himself. \"Not after I was no longer a whelp. But Kakkarot holds his children. And Tomique-chan would want it to be so.\"

After a minute or two both boys released him, and slid down from his lap. Raditz coughed awkwardly then slowly climbed to his feet. \"You may… do that when nobody is looking,\" he said quietly, resting a hand on either boy\'s head.

\"Told ya so,\" Bohr glared at Fermi.

\"The only reason I don\'t have you call me Father is because you already have one,\" he said quietly, answering their unspoken question.

\"Is it also cause you and your daddy didn\'t get along and it makes you sad to remember?\" asked Bohr.

\"You and your daddy argued a lot,\" Fermi said.

\"You are right young ones, unfortunately,\" Raditz gave them a sheepish look. Their intuition was uncanny, because he had not been thinking that was the case, but they had filled the gaps in by his facial expressions and hesitations.

\"I\'m sure he\'s looking down from Heaven and he thinks its okay,\" said Bohr.

\"Don\'t be silly,\" said Fermi. \"But I think he knows you care. Cause you\'re looking after us.\"

\"I like to think so,\" Raditz said, slowly accepting their innocent explanation. He collected their empty bottles and carried them over to the trash bin to dispose of them. Fermi and Bohr trotted alongside him on the way there and back.

\"What are you and Mommy gonna name our little brother and sister?\" asked Fermi.

\"Or are you waiting for a surprise?\" Bohr asked.

\"Your mother and I are still not sure. I had wished to give them Saiyan names. But if she wishes names like yours…\" he trailed off.

\"Mommy said that in Daddy\'s culture you gave kids the names of dead relatives,\" said Fermi.

\"Or a first, second and third name to go with the last,\" said Bohr.

\"Saiyan names and human names maybe?\" Fermi nodded.

\"We shall see,\" nodded Raditz.

\"Like Bardock after your daddy, and Rutabaga after your mommy?\" asked Bohr.

\"Perhaps,\" he gave the boy a small smile. He reached down and grasped the boy\'s hand, then extended his other for Fermi.

\"Mommy likes the names Planck and Curie after two scientists she admires,\" Fermi added. He felt Raditz\'s hand swallow his small one, then let the warrior lead both of them towards the exit of the GR chamber.

Hand in hand with the twins, Raditz exited the GR chamber. They strode through the grounds of Capsule silently for a time, feeling the warmth of the noonday sun in a cloudless sky. Just the buzzing of their silent thoughts echoed for a time amongst the three. Raditz had to admit that \'babysitting\' wasn\'t so bad after all. It was a good test run for when two tailed infants would come into the world nine months later.

\"Father, what would you think of me now?\" Raditz chuffed to himself, glancing skywards for a moment. He half expected to see his father Bardock glancing down in similar amusement. Memories of his parents flashed through his head. How his mother always hounded him to pick a nice female and produce whelps. Or how his father berated him for putting his career before family ties. Earth was a tabular Rosa for the Saiyan, for he could mend the past mistakes by reaching out to his brother, mate and children. Would Bardock be proud of him for finding a mate and starting a family of his own, or ashamed? Raditz hoped the former was true.

***
\"Son Raditz san!\" yelled one of the employees rushing up.

\"What?\" Raditz asked, still not accustomed to the adopted surname.

\"Your wife said that she wanted to meet you… for lunch,\" panted the scientist. He glanced up at Raditz apologetically.

\"Hi Dr. Melmac!\" Bohr waved.

\"It\'s one of Mommy\'s co workers who helps her in the lab, right?\" Fermi said.

\"Oh hi there, boys,\" said Dr. Melmac, one of Bulma\'s principle scientists that worked for Capsule\'s Material Science group. \"Your mom\'s pictures are outdated! You\'re a lot bigger then I thought!\"

\"They\'re both growing quite sufficiently,\" Raditz said with pride as he indicated either boy. He followed the white-coated scientist towards the cafeteria, still holding Fermi and Bohr\'s hands.

\"You\'re one lucky guy,\" said Dr. Melmac. \"We were all taking bets on when she\'d find someone to take care of those two fine boys.\"

He leaned close to say this to Raditz, who gave him a slow grunt. Gleaming on the third finger of Raditz\'s left hand was a gold ring, in the same position as the one that Atomique wore. Despite the fact that he was Saiyan he had acquiesced to this human tradition of wearing matching wedding rings. In turn she wore the armlet and leg band Raditz had given her as a Saiyan custom, not to mention the round bite mark on her neck.

Husband was a strange word when Mate sufficed. Still he followed Prince Vegeta\'s orders to adopt some semblance of earth culture. While he and Napa wore their Saiyan armor during business hours, they adopted street clothes when off Capsule grounds. This was in order to reassure the citizens that they were just another two inhabitants of Earth. A plastic name card badge hung on a chain around Raditz\'s neck bearing his name in Japanese with his picture and the Capsule Corps logo denoting him as another employee. Both he and Nappa received generous paychecks for their services. Napa guarded and trained Trunks during the day, while Raditz guarded and assisted Atomique with her work. He took over primary care of the boys when Son Goku wasn\'t available, to everyone\'s surprise. It was Saiyan tradition and Vegeta insisted on it.

\"Hey hey there!\" Yamcha laughed, rushing up in a yellow suit and white shirt.

\"Hi Uncle Yamcha,\" the boys chorused.

\"What are you doing here, Mr. Yamcha? If you\'re looking for Dr. Briefs she\'s in a business meeting,\" said Dr. Melmac.

\"Actually I\'m just here to meet Trunks to take him to a ballgame…\" Yamcha said. \"Is he…\"

\"Onisan Trunks is with Napa,\" said Fermi.

\"Sorry,\" Bohr answered.

\"Oh bummer…\" Yamcha pouted.

\"I shall convey your message to her Majesty,\" said Raditz warily. \"I had not been informed that you were responsible for the Prince\'s son during this time.\"

\"Um uh… well… I…\" Yamcha trailed off, blinking up at Raditz.

\"Uncle Yamcha do you know Uncle Radish man?\" asked Bohr.

\"He\'s okay, you don\'t have to freak out,\" Fermi glanced up at Yamcha, whose knees were knocking together.

\"Did you say… Napa?\" stammered Yamcha. \"You mean… HE\'S taking care of TRUNKS?\"

\"Is there a problem with that, Mr. Yamcha?\" asked Raditz carefully.

\"I um… I gotta go…\" Yamcha stammered.

\"Mr. Yamcha, why don\'t you come with me. I\'m certain Dr. Briefs can explain everything,\" Dr. Melmac said, realizing what was going on. All Capsule employees had been trained for such damage control regarding the two Saiyan employees. Yamcha\'s eyes expanded to the size of golf balls at the sight of the two boys so casually walking hand in hand with a fierce Saiyan warrior.

\"But… but…\"

\"This way sir,\" Dr. Melmac said. He snapped his fingers and motioned to two other security guards. Raditz grunted and shook his head. Tugging on the boy\'s hands he led them the rest of the way to the cafeteria.

\"Why\'s he so scared?\" asked Bohr.

Yamcha had kept his mouth shut regarding Raditz, shortly after accidentally walking in on Raditz and Atomique making love on a lab bench. Jeannie, trying to find Bulma for a lunch meeting had chased him. Jeannie had nailed him in the back with a blast, per orders that no Z fighter was to come into the complex when Napa and Raditz were present.

\"He doesn\'t like Napa-san,\" Fermi said. \"Cause the Napa san from this universe killed him.\"

\"It was the Saibaman things,\" Bohr said. \"Wasn\'t it?\"

Vegeta had hauled Yamcha off to Bulma, who sat at his side in the sickbay. Both Vegeta and Bulma explained the situation that Goku had forgotten to clarify. After much prompting and nasty glares from Vegeta the baseball player and former boyfriend to Bulma Briefs swore secrecy.

\"Er, well…\" Raditz trailed off, not sure of what to say. Fortunately Yamcha, Tien and Chiautzu had not been present to see Raditz and Goku dead. Krillen had and he was sufficiently freaked to find out that Raditz was seen caring for two small boys. Despite Goku\'s reassurance the Z fighters were extremely suspicious. Something Vegeta had sought to avoid by minimizing contact.