Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Falling in Love a Second Time ❯ Putting the Pieces Together ( Chapter 13 )

Falling In Love A Second Time

Chapter 13 - Putting the Pieces Together

Bulma landed her capsule car, rather ironically, at the park. Finding an empty bench, she heavily sat down, desperate to understand all that her son had just told her. 'Is it possible Vegeta is Trunks' father?' Bulma asked herself, as she continued to replay the memory in her mind.

"Mom, I want to go to the park!" Trunks jumped up and down, pulling on his mother's pant leg.

"Trunks, I have work to do, go ask your father." Bulma smiled at her handsome son.

"Come on Mom," Trunks pouted, "you know Dad won't take me! He hates the park!"

"Ask him nicely, Trunks." Bulma pushed her son towards the door.

"Awe, come on, please Mom!" Trunks stopped her from pushing him too far. He flashed his big puppy dog blue eyes at her as he frowned in a plea for sympathy. "Can't you ask him? You know he'll listen to you!"

"Trun--"

"Please." Trunks pushed out his lower lip further, to look even more pleading.

"Oh, fine." Bulma chuckled as she walked past her son and down the hall. A few moments later she was in the kitchen, staring at the handsome backside of Trunks' perfectly chiseled Father. Walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around the shirtless man, taking advantage of the chance to feel his well-sculpted chest.

"I'm not going to the park," he said quickly, before she could speak.

"Come on." She maneuvered her way around him so she could look into his bottomless eyes. "Your son really wants to go, and I can't take him right now."

"Your son," the dark man corrected, before taking a bite of a banana he had picked up. Bulma frowned, in a manner similar to that of Trunks, before tracing the perfect indentations around his abs. "I really hate to have to do this," she pouted before leaning in to his ear, "but if Trunks doesn't get to play this afternoon, you won't get to play tonight," she whispered seductively, before clamping her teeth down in his banana and suggestively taking a bite of her own.

The man before her growled deeply within his throat before attempting to capture her lips, he failed as she dodged him with a victorious laugh. "Ah, ah, ah," she warned, "not before you take Trunks to the park."

"Honestly woman," he allowed a smirk to grace his lips, "if you keep being manipulative like this, I'm going to start to think I'm wearing off on you."

"Dende, forbid," the pair laughed, before calling their son to join them.

Bulma rubbed her temples while taking deep breaths, 'Trunks called him his father. I referred to him as Trunks' Father, but how can that be, when everyone said it didn't work out between us? So, were they lying to me? Is that it? But why wouldn't he tell me? Why wouldn't Trunks just tell me, unless-'

"Do you know what true solitude is? To never know the love or affection of another living being? But, imagine that all changing, imagine meeting someone who, despite your best efforts, manages to stay by your side, believing in you when you no longer believe in yourself, giving you every luxury one could ever dream of, including an emotion that you never believed existed, what you humans call love. You finally succeed; experience your bliss, for once in your miserable existence you find happiness, but what if it is taken from you? How would you act if all that has ever meant anything to you in life was denied you by a cruel twist of fate? Would you know what to do to gain it back? How to act in the face of fear, fear that what you had finally been deemed worthy of could be lost to you once again at any moment?"

'He was talking about love,' Bulma realized all too late. 'Not just any love, but the love of a woman. Could it have been me? Was the cruel twist of fate he was embittered by, my accident? Is it possible? Did he lie to protect me? Was he afraid the truth would hurt me?'

"I had to see you," he whispered, his voice calm and steady.

"Well you have seen me, now get the hell out!" she suggested, hoping that would be enough to calm whatever sick interest he had in her.

"You must trust me," he whispered barely. "I am of no danger to you. I would never do anything to hurt you," he locked his eyes with her frightened ones. "You have my word."

"Do I? And what good is your word? You have done nothing but cause all the people around me grief since the moment you came to this planet. Why would I believe anything different now?"

"Because it's true." He took a few long breaths. "I am not the man you barely knew so many years ago. I have changed, just as you have."

"As if you could know me so well," she disagreed quickly. "If you have changed and are now 'my friend' and not a psychopathic murderer, then why weren't you here with the others when they came to see me? Why wait until the middle of the night when I am all alone to scare me half to death!? Why!" she demanded; she might have lost several years of her memories, but she was not one to be made a fool of.

"I was here," he confessed, "but you had just awakened, and your friends agreed it was best, considering your state of mind, that I not see you. Perhaps they were right."

'That must be it,' Bulma knew it had to be true. 'Then, they all lied to protect me, but-but why maintain the lie even now? I mean, my Dende, I slept with him! How could he not tell me that-Chi-Chi. Bulma paused as she recalled there argument this morning.

"Bulma," Chi-Chi shook her head with gravity, "Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"I know," Bulma hissed and shook her head as she stepped away from her friend. "Trust me I know exactly how big of a mistake having sex with him was. And I made damn sure he knew as well." Bulma wiped a hard tear as she recalled the angering and yet confusing exchange they shared this morning.

"You did?" Chi-Chi relaxed a little; at least the confused woman had determined that much. "So you told him this never should have happened, and you both are going to stay away from each other at least."

"I assume so, I mean, I haven't seen him since this morning," Bulma admitted with a long sigh, before walking over to the kitchen table and taking a heavy seat. "Chi-Chi, how could I have been so foolish? I have never fallen into bed with a man before, at least from what I can remember, why was he any different?"

Chi-Chi sighed as she walked over to her distraught friend and took a seat next to her. "I wish I had an answer for you, but all I can assume is that without your memories your old feelings are coming back to you. I suppose part of those feelings were the lust you held for him, but Bulma you have to understand, it is only lust. You never felt anything more for him in all the years you have lost, so trust me when I tell you that staying away from him is best."

'Just lust,' Bulma suppressed a tear in her eye. 'Is that it? They didn't lie to me, they just didn't tell me the whole truth. I must have had an affair with Vegeta, and Trunks was the result. I suppose it makes sense. It explains how Trunks could ever be a decent sparring partner for Vegeta, how the two share similar mannerisms, and even how such a strong loyalty can lie between them. But…Were the stories of Trunks' father leaving me all lies, to protect me from finding out I had an affair with Vegeta?'

"So what happened between us? Why did we break up?"

Yamcha sighed as his demeanor visibly shrunk when asked the question. "We had problems that couldn't be worked out."

"Well, what kind of problems?" Bulma defiantly wanted more of an explanation than that.

"Well," Yamcha began, rather unsure of himself, "I had an affair, and then you sort of had one in retaliation, but you became pregnant, and there was no going back for us after that."

"Trunks," she whispered, shocked that it had been her son that destroyed what they had. "So that's it? I just went and gave my body to some guy to get back at you, and I ended up getting pregnant as a result?!" Yamcha remained silent; Bulma took this as a confirmation of the truth. "I don't believe I would do something so stupid."

"You wouldn't, Trunks' father wasn't exactly the most honorable of men. He took advantage of the emotional state you were in, and then left you after Trunks was born. He was too selfish to pay you any consideration."

"Ah, it doesn't make any sense!" Bulma screamed into the empty fields. 'Vegeta couldn't have left me after Trunks was born, Trunks claims Vegeta has been present all of his life. How can I determine which lies are true and which truths are lies!?'

Almost as though Bulma's request had been miraculously answered, a solution appeared before her in the form of her ex-boyfriend. "Yamcha," Bulma gasped as she ran over and threw her arms around her lost love's neck. "I don't know how you ended up here, but I am so glad to see you."

"Are you all right?" Yamcha was quick to ask. "I called to see how you were doing, but Trunks answered the phone. He said you had gone out for some air. I am relieved to have found you."

"Yamcha," Bulma wanted to focus on the breakthrough she was in the middle of having. "I know you want to talk about last night, but we can't right now. What I need right now is to know the truth."

"The truth about what?" Yamcha gulped nervously, he wasn't sure, after his conversation with Gohan, what was going to be done about informing Bulma that she was a married woman.

"About the father of my son," Bulma frowned pleadingly. "I need to know, Yamcha; my health, both mentally and physically, can handle the truth. Is Vegeta Trunks' father?"

Yamcha bore a confused expression, trying to conclude why she had asked that question specifically. "You sound as though you already know, so I suppose my confirmation won't be so shocking."

"Then it is true," Bulma felt a bizarre sigh of relief. She wanted nothing more than to know the truth, and finally she had it. "Dende, I wish I could have known sooner, it would have made things so much less confusing." She whispered her thoughts out loud. "If that's the case then what else have I not been privy to." Bulma returned her attention to the confused man before her. "You told me that the father of my child left me, but Vegeta is still here; please Yamcha, tell me what really happened."

The former z-fighter turned from his past love as he walked over and took a seat on the bench Bulma had been sitting on prior to their interlude. He didn't know how, but clearly she had realized the mistruths everyone had been telling her for her protection. It seemed his fleeting hope of exploring the feelings that had returned to him was now long gone. "I am afraid all that I told you before was the truth Bulma. You and Vegeta did have an affair, and Trunks was the result. When I said Vegeta had left you, it was the truth. He did, right after you gave birth to Trunks. He left for space, and then didn't return until a battle was ready for him. Afterwards, the two of you decided not to remain a couple, but Vegeta stayed to train Trunks--"

"That's the memory!" Bulma cut Yamcha off with a gasp, as she recalled the frigid words she had accused Vegeta of having used to tell her they were 'finished.' He had been the one in her memory that had been the end of their coupling. "So, that's it," Bulma whispered with a renewed sense of depression, as she sat next to Yamcha. "That was why Chi-Chi was so ashamed of me for sleeping with him, he never felt anything for me."

Yamcha sighed as he wrapped an arm around Bulma for comfort. He could only imagine how difficult it could be to find out the father of your child is a mass murderer, especially after having slept with-'slept with him!' Yamcha jumped off of the park bench in utter shock. "You slept with Vegeta?!"

Bulma's head fell lower as she tried to shake the shame away. "I know, I already had this discussion with Chi-Chi, but at least now I know where my feelings came from! Clearly I was lost in the lust I had once felt for him, much like the feelings that I experienced with you last night. Oh, Dende, Yamcha, what was I thinking!? How could my judgment be so misguided that I actually believed for a moment that his feelings for me were real? I mean, look at how pathetic I have become! I am a single mother, living with the loser father of my child, sleeping with a man who doesn't care for me, and to top it all off, I'm more than middle aged and I've never been married!"

"But, you are." The heartfelt response came at just above a whisper.

"What did you say?" Bulma asked slightly stunned, as she took a few steps closer to the visibly disheartened man.

"I said you are married," Yamcha repeated. "You didn't let me finish when I was sharing your history with Vegeta. Your choice to remain apart only lasted for a few years. You became involved in a serious relationship with another man who eventually proposed to you, but you couldn't go through with it once you realized you still had feelings for Vegeta; as he did for you, as it turned out. Whatever uncertainty Vegeta had in his feelings towards you, they were vanquished when he was faced with the possibility of loosing you to another man. So after battling for almost eight years, the two of you finally laid down your swords and accepted what was between the two of you. You married shortly after. It was more of a formality than anything else, but the feelings were still there. I know, because I watched the tears of joy flow down your face the day after he agreed to the union. I was thrilled for you at the time, but devastated out of some form of self-pity. I never have and most likely never will understand what you love about that man, but I have tried my damnedest to respect it. Until yesterday at least, I guess the temptation was too much for me last night, I'm sorry I took advantage of you."

As he finished, Bulma felt her heart stop. Perhaps since her feelings for Yamcha were still so fresh in her memory, she could sympathize with what he had been feeling through this ordeal. But as heart rendering as his predicament was, her sympathy for her apparently husband was much deeper. "Yamcha, I have to go." Bulma pulled a capsule car out of her coat pocket and clicked the end for it to open.

"Bulma, wait I--"

Stopping him with a quick kiss on the cheek, Bulma shook her head as she pulled away. "You don't have to apologize anymore. I can understand how difficult this has been for you, and even though I would have preferred knowing the whole truth," she narrowed her eyes for emphasis, "I forgive you for last night. I know, no matter how many years have passed, that you would never intentionally hurt me."

"Thank you." Yamcha released a long sigh of relief, he had feared more than anything, loosing her friendship over this; he was relieved to hear that was not the case.

Hopping into her capsule car, Bulma sped off back to Capsule Corp. 'Dende, he's my husband!!! Ah, and after all of those terrible things I said about him, and last night! I actually accused him of taking advantage of me! My own husband!' It was strange, how blissful the sound of 'husband' was to her. She had wanted that perfect mate ever since she was a little girl, and now it seemed she had it. Perhaps in a form she would have never expected, but she now realized he was there nonetheless. All of the memories she had that told her otherwise were in fact exactly what he had said them to be, from the past. So they had a rocky coupling, but seeing him now, the way he looks at her, feels with her… It all made perfect sense. How she had accepted him so easily into her bed last night, how he had made such selfless love to her welcoming body, and how he had held her so securely when she awoke, it was because he belonged there, with her. Suddenly connecting every befuddling moment she had, since her awakening from her coma, Bulma felt like a fool for the way she had been acting. The void she had thought was so devastatingly empty was only so, because she had been foolishly pushing away the only man who could fill it. Well, no more. As soon as Bulma touched down at Capsule Corp, she sped right into the house to be greeted by her concerned son.

"Hey, Mom." Trunks jumped from his seat on the couch and walked over to greet his mother as she returned home. "You were out a pretty long time for just getting some air."

"Oh," Bulma forced a smile as she pulled her coat off and hung it in the closet. "I just took a slightly longer drive than I anticipated, sorry."

"Ah, that's all right." Trunks conceded, "you have been going through a lot recently, I understand that you need some time away from it all."

"Well, thank you for your acceptance." Bulma laughed genuinely. "But, right now I need to talk to your Father; do you know where he is?"

"Well," Trunks began thoughtlessly. "He was eating lunch a little while ago, and then I think he wanted to go take a nap-" Trunks stopped himself abruptly, his eyes widening slightly in fear. "Um… What did you just ask me?"

"You can calm down," Bulma placed her hand on her son's head and soothingly ran her fingers through his straight hair. "I know Vegeta's your father, Trunks. You don't have to protect me from the truth anymore."

"You have your memory back!" Trunks jumped up and down in excitement, before throwing his arms around his mother. "This is great! When did you get it back!? Did something trigger it, or was it just a-"

"I don't have all of my memories back yet, Trunks." Bulma halted his excitement. "I only have a few pieces, but they are enough to put everything together. You know, I really wish you had just told me in the first place."

"I wanted to!" Trunks protested adamantly. "But Dad was worried that the truth was too much for you to handle, he didn't want to risk setting your recovery back."

To hear of Vegeta's concern, brought a frown to Bulma's lips, it made her feel even guiltier for treating him as she has been. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I have been, but it's all over now. I know everything, so you don't have to lie anymore."

"Good," Trunks nodded in relief, "although, I was getting used to calling Dad, Vegeta. He absolutely hated it." He chuckled evilly; if there was one thing he enjoyed, it was pissing his father off.

"Speaking of which," Bulma shifted gears quickly, "would you mind spending the night over at the Son's. I called Chi-Chi on my way over, and she said it would be all right."

"Oh, I get it, you want some alone time with, Dad." Trunks nodded understandingly. "That sounds good. It'd be nice to actually see Dad in a good mood once again. He's been grumpier than usual all day."

"Well, I fully intend to fix that," Bulma assured her son, she, after all, was the reason for his temperament. She watched her son speed upstairs and then come back down in almost the blink of the eye, Trunks was completely changed with a packed bag.

"I'll see you later then?" Trunks wrapped his arms tightly around his mother in an affectionate hug. "I'm so glad to have you b--" Trunks' thought was cut off, as a shocked gasp left his lips.

Bulma immediately noticed his bizarre reaction, and questioned, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, n-nothing," Trunks shook his head as he stepped away from his mother. "I, ah, I better get going." He tried to block out the impossibility he just felt.

"Well, ok, then. Have fun." Bulma waved as her son turned to leave. "Oh and Trunks, don't tell anyone about my having some of my memories back just yet. I wouldn't want Vegeta to find out before I tell him, which would be almost a guarantee considering how fast gossip spreads in the Son house."

Trunks nodded in complete comprehension. "You got it," he waved as he took to the air.

As soon as he was gone, Bulma closed the door behind her and began consider how she was going to break the joyous news to her husband.

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Author's Note: Bulma knows! It's about damn time I must say. But, will she be able to make up for her bad behavior towards her husband after all this time? Find out in the next chapter. Til' then…