Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Falling in Love the First Time ❯ Meeting the Competition ( Chapter 16 )

Falling In Love The First Time

Chapter 16 - Meeting the Competition

"May I come in, Mom?" Trunks asked as he knocked quietly on his mother's bedroom door. No more than a few seconds passed before the door opened, revealing his completely decked out mother. Bulma had donned a navy blue floor length satin dress that fitted her every curve. Her hair was loosely pulled up out of her face with what looked like small diamond hair clips. "You look like a princess, Mom." Trunks spoke with a deep smile as he observed his mother's overall appearance.

"Well thank you," Bulma bowed in a mock curtsy before leaning down to pick her son up. Walking over to her vanity she sat back down, and comfortably adjusted her son upon her lap. She then went back to putting her diamond earrings on. "I hope you don't mind that I won't be with you for dinner tonight," she spoke quietly, interrupting her son as he began looking through some of the things she had set out.

"It's ok," Trunks lied coolly. "I'm just glad you are happy. You are happy, right?" The boy's voice held a highly suggestive note.

"How could I not be happy? I have you!" Bulma gave her son a quick kiss on the forehead, easily dodging the true intent of the question.

"Can I ask you something, Mom?" Trunks held a very pensive look as he glanced at his mother. He may only have been five years of age, but he was after all, a Briefs.

"What's on your mind?" Bulma asked while clipping her last piece of jewelry to complete her flawless ensemble, a diamond necklace.

"It's about this Jet guy." Trunks' voice held a hint of disappointment in it.

Bulma noted her son's apprehension, but encouraged him to continue anyway. "What about him?"

"Do you love him?" Trunks' question was blunt, much in the nature of his father.

Bulma blinked, startled by her son's very bold inquisition. "Do I love him?" She repeated, very much at a loss for words. "Trunks, why would you ask that?"

"I was just wondering." He sounded nonchalant about it, though the topic was anything but to him. "Dad seems to think this guy is only going to be in your life temporarily. He called it some 'passing interest.' Is that true?"

"That's what your father told you?" Bulma poorly tried to hide her anger; Vegeta had no right offering his two cents on a subject he knew nothing about.

Trunks nodded as a frown graced his features. "Don't be mad at Dad, I was the one who asked him about it in the first place. It was my fault, I'm sorry."

"Oh, Trunks," Bulma reflected her son's upset demeanor. "You don't have to defend your father to me."

"But, I don't want you to be mad at him." Tears began to well in the boy's eyes. "I don't like it when you two are upset with each other."

The boy's words stung, Bulma never wanted her son to bear witness to her arguments with his father. She had thought they had been careful about protecting Trunks from such feelings of animosity. Apparently, they were wrong. "I'm not upset, Trunks." Bulma promised as she shifted the boy in her lap so he was facing her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him as she hugged him closely, rubbing his back as he allowed his few tears to flow. "Your father and I might not get along all of the time, but we both love you very much. So you have no reason to worry about us."

"Yes, I do," Trunks objected, as he rested his head atop his mother's chest. "Both of you are unhappy! You guys should be together! Why can't you two just forgive each other and start loving each other again!?"

"I wish it were that simple," Bulma sighed, truly meaning her statement. "But it's not. You know this, Trunks. I know it is still hard for you to understand, but you have to trust your father and I, and understand that we are and have been trying to do what's best for all of us."

Trunks released a long sigh before returning to his original question. "Do you love Jet more than Dad?"

Bulma's heart momentarily stopped as she heard the question. "How can you ask that?" A counter question was all she could think of to deflect from her response.

"I just want to know if Dad has a chance," Trunks whispered, sniffing back another set of tears.

"If your Dad has a chance at what?" Bulma asked quietly, fearful that she already knew the answer.

"He loves you," Trunks' voice continued to fade. "I think if you give Dad the chance, he will be willing to try and work out the problems you two have."

"And what makes you think that?" Bulma blinked back a few tears of her own; it destroyed her to hear her son holding out hope for something she knew would never happen.

"Come on Mom, isn't it obvious!?" Trunks' voice suddenly became louder, as he lifted his head and quickly wiped his eyes. "If you haven't noticed, Dad, unlike you, isn't dating! Clearly it's because he is waiting for you to take him back!"

"Trunks, that has nothing to do with me, your father simply doesn't like dating." Bulma tried to deliver the painful truth as gently as possible. "You know how… shy he is." Bulma tried to use the right word to explain Vegeta's neurotically introverted nature.

"It's not just that Mom! Come on, Dad loves you!" Trunks' attempt at a sound argument suddenly had faded to nothing more than a whiny plea for acceptance.

"No, Trunks," Bulma said after a long pause. "I know this is confusing for you, but the sooner you understand that your father and I will never be together, the easier it will be for you to accept-"

"No!" Trunks pouted in objection. "I don't accept anything!" Trunks ran the back of his hand roughly across his eyes once again to clean some more of his tears. "You two love each other!" Trunks affirmed, before his voice suddenly dropped off. "If you didn't you would never have had me."

"Trunks," Bulma whispered her son's name before resting her head atop his, trying desperately to suppress her swelling tears. "I'm so sorry," she whispered her apology for all the confusion and hurt her poor choices were now wreaking upon her son. "I wish I could make this easier for you."

"You can," Trunks sniffled. "Just marry Dad."

Bulma forced a light chuckle to soften the atmosphere. "You make it sound so easy."

"It should be," Trunks just barely whispered, before once again coming back to the original question that had started all of this, "unless you are in love with someone else… Are you Mom?"

"And what if I was?" Bulma reverted to her 'ask a question, answer with a question' game. "Would you still wish me to 'marry' your father?"

Trunks' matching blue eyes locked with his mother's, and in a Vegeta like moment he answered. "Yes, that's exactly what I want!" he said proudly with as much egotism as he father could conger.

Bulma shook her head before rising from her seat, and giving her son a quick boost, she tightened her hold on him. "What say we go see if Jet is here yet?"

"If we must," Trunks said with a blatant note of disappointment.

Grabbing her purse and shutting the light off, Bulma closed the door to her room, and headed downstairs towards what strangely sounded like two men arguing.

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Vegeta walked over and whipped open the door to be greeted by a man in a black tuxedo with an assortment of red roses in his arm. The beaming escort stood a few inches taller than Vegeta; he estimated approximately Kakarrot's height, with bright emerald eyes and light brown hair. The man was slender with a somewhat muscular shape, though meager in comparison to Vegeta's well-chiseled form. And judging by the intruder's youthful features, he was a few years younger than the Saiya-jin no ouji.

"Hello, I am Jet. It is a pleasure to you meet you."

Vegeta's lips curled into a smirk as he completed his assessment of Bulma's date. After deciding himself to be the better looking of the two, he turned and walked away from the entrance. "Close the door behind you," Vegeta spoke evenly, watching with amusement, as the man seemed terribly perplexed by the prince's command, but followed obediently anyway.

After mystifyingly closing the door behind him, Jet walked over to the shorter man and wordlessly handed him the roses he had brought for Bulma while proceeding to take off his coat. "Why don't you put those in some water," Jet suggested, ignoring the confused and indignant look that was beginning to consume the Saiya-jin no ouji. "And be careful when you hang this coat up, Armani wrinkles so easily," he finished as he handed the coat to the shorter man as well.

Suppressing his rage, Vegeta dropped both items he had been handed to the ground. He clenched his fists as he tried to restrain himself from blasting the man. "I am not some servant to be ordered around! This is my home. If you want your damn coat hung, and water for your weeds, take care of it yourself!"

"Your home?" Jet looked utterly baffled for a few moments before finally putting the pieces together. "Oh, my apologies, you must be Vegeta." The man shook his head, ashamed by his false assumption. "I am terribly sorry; I had thought you were simply the most dreadful butler I have ever met." He tried to calm the situation with some light humor, but stopped to clear his throat, as his counterpart seemed far from amused. "I truly didn't realize," he reiterated quickly before leaning down to pick up the items Vegeta had so untidily dropped. "Please, allow me to try this again." He extended his hand in an attempt to start over. "I am Jet; it's nice to finally match a face with the person Bulma loves to complain so much about."

Though the comment was clearly another attempt at lightening the tense mood, Vegeta only narrowed his eyes further, refusing the man's apology and gesture. "Well pardon me if I don't take any enjoyment in meeting you," he snapped coldly, as he turned to leave.

"Please, wait a moment," Jet called to try and stop the man. Out of nothing more than sick amusement, Vegeta heeded the man's plea as he turned to face him. "I really did not wish to start off on the wrong foot with you. Bulma has explained to me that you are and will always be a part of her life. Which is understandable of course; the two of you share a child, but as I also intend to stay a part of Bulma's life, I hope that for her sake at least, we could try and maintain at least some level of civility between us."

"Do you?" Vegeta lips twisted into one of his classic smirks. "Well, I see no need for any civility between us, considering it will only be a matter of time before the woman disposes of your little tryst. So, why don't you just focus on what little time you have left with her."

"Is that so?" Jet's eyebrow rose slightly in anger. He had wanted to be magnanimous and extend a kind gesture to a man that, for all of the misery he had caused his date, should pay no such courtesy. But, it seemed as though the man he was facing off against was not one to be dealt with gently. "With all due respect, it sounds as though you know little of that which you speak. Bulma and I are not having a 'tryst.' We are involved in a serious relationship."

Vegeta suppressed his resentment; this man seemed to honestly believe there was something genuine between him and Bulma. That would have to be disproved. "So the woman likes to talk about me?" He pointed out rather smartly as he noted the man's seemingly extensive knowledge of Vegeta and Bulma's relationship. "That must be terribly disturbing for you, having your 'date's' thoughts and feelings consumed by a better man."

"On the contrary," Jet objected, the pleasantness drifting from his voice. He could just as easily play this game. "Bulma takes comfort in having someone who she can talk to about the distress invoked in her life. I enjoy being able to help lighten the burden placed upon her. That is simply how a real man should treat a woman."

That did it.

Had Vegeta had the time to complete a ki blast through the man's chest, he would have, damning all of his past years of 'good behavior.' But his blast could have never been completed when almost out of nowhere Bulma and his son had entered his line of fire.

"Jet!" Bulma said with a wide smile as she walked over to give the man a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's nice to see you still alive." She shot a quick glare towards Vegeta. She clearly had heard the end of their exchange. "Say hello, Trunks," Bulma ordered her pouting son whom she still held in her arms.

"Hi, Jet," Trunks muttered before wiggling out of his mother's grasp and running over to Vegeta. Wrapping an arm around Vegeta's calf, Trunks silently reaffirmed exactly where his loyalties lie.

Vegeta, though strongly opposed to any sign of physical affection, allowed his son's embrace. He wanted, just as much as Trunks, to make certain that this weakling received a clear understanding of how unwanted he truly was. "Come boy," Vegeta spoke to his son, though he maintained eye contact with his challenger, "we have better things to be doing." With that thought Vegeta and Trunks both left the pair to their evening.

"I'm so sorry." Bulma was quick to apologize as soon as father and son were out of sight. "If I had known you were here I would have come down much sooner, but I was just in the middle of this intense conversation with my son, and it-"

"It's all right." Jet placed a finger over his lips to silence her. "After meeting that, you never have to explain anything again."

"Thank you," she released a light chuckle, before vanquishing all thoughts from her mind that were not related to her evening. "So, I suppose those are for me," she pointed to the roses the man held.

Jet quickly nodded as she handed the flowers to his date. "I'm sorry they are slightly crushed, they were 'accidentally' dropped."

"I can imagine," Bulma nodded, she had missed the first part of the men's interlude, but she could easily guess what had happened. "So, where are we going exactly?" Bulma asked rather coyly before walking over to the closet and pulling out one of her favorite floor length black furs.

"Ah, ah, ah, it is a surprise, my darling," Jet reminded as he pulled his own coat back on. "Shall we?" he asked as he extended a bent arm to escort his date to his Porsche.

Bulma quickly accepted his escort as the pair strutted out of the room, unbeknownst to them that they were being watched.

"You see! I told you! He's totally in love with her!" Trunks hissed angrily as he looked up at his proud father. "You have to do something!"

"And what do you want me to do?" Vegeta shot back, quickly becoming exasperated by the situation. Turning from the corner he had shamefully hid behind to observe the pair, Vegeta headed into the kitchen, his son close behind. "It's her life, if she wants to waste it on that fool, than that is her choice."

"But it's the wrong one!" Trunks objected as he followed his father's lead and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Come on Dad, we both know that if you just told Mom that you love her, she would leave Jet in a heartbeat."

Vegeta shook his head, angered that the boy thought he actually loved the woman, and bizarrely disappointed to know that even if he did, it was too late for them. "I am sick of talking about this with you, boy! Now your mother might be sugarcoating things for you, but I sure as hell won't. Let me make this very clear for you. I do not love your mother. I am much happier without her than I was with her. If she chooses to waste all of her time with that fool, I will not care, because I don't care about her!"

"But, she's in love with you," Trunks whispered softly.

"What?" Vegeta could not help the slight drop in his jaw as he heard the confession. Why did hearing such news seem to lift an unknown burden from his shoulders? He did not take too long to ponder the question however; he was not one to believe an impossibility so easily. Whatever feelings she had for him, he made certain were long ago destroyed. That was how he wanted it, and that is how things will remain. "No, you don't know anything boy. You are just a child." Vegeta finished as he rose from his seat and headed back toward the gravity room, leaving his son to deal with the harsh truth on his own.

There were not going to be any changes in their little 'family.' Bulma for once seemed happy, and as he had long ago promised himself, he was not going to interfere with her romantic life. Even if it infuriated him to no end, he was not going to be the one to destroy her this time.

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"That was absolutely delicious!" Bulma gracefully wiped her lips with her napkin before sitting back in her chair to begin digesting the exquisite meal she had just devoured.

"I'm pleased you enjoyed it," Jet followed her lead as he completed his own course. He watched curiously as his date began quietly laughing to herself as he handed his plate to one of the army of waiters that had been serving them. "What is so funny?" he asked, rather amused by her playful expression.

"Nothing," Bulma paused her chuckling as she recomposed herself. "It's just that this sort of evening is rather unorthodox for me. I am not used to such pampering." She referred to Jet having closed her favorite restaurant for the entire evening, so the two of them could have the dining room and dance floor to themselves. He had made the arrangements after she had casually mentioned to him, the last time they were dining there, that she hated how crowded the restaurant always was.

Of course, it would have been enough for him to simply blow a small fortune to have such a prestigious restaurant closed for just the two of them that evening, but Jet was one to always go above and beyond the call of duty. The room had been decorated with yellow orchids, her favorite flower. But, considering orchids were well out of season this time of year, she assumed he must have dropped another pretty penny to import the few thousand he had decorating the room. When she had entered, she felt as though she was walking into some fairytale. However, the fairytale was not about to end there.

They had been shown to an equally decorative table, where Bulma had placed her purse, and a waiter had come to take her and Jet's coats. She was about to sit when Jet stopped her, instead guiding her towards the dance floor. She had gasped in utter shock when she looked onto the stage to see a small orchestra assembled to play all of her favorite classical songs. They danced closely to the beautiful composition. The entire time, Bulma thought she could never meet a man who paid attention to her every word, and worked to fulfill her every desire, as Jet did. It had almost brought her to tears when she saw all of the trouble he had gone to.

"Well, you should start to get used to it." Jet rose from his chair and walked around the table to pull up a seat right next to her. He quickly nodded to one of the waiters and the room cleared out completely, leaving the two of them with only each other's company.

"Oh, don't tell me there are more surprises, I don't think I could take anymore!" Bulma spoke with a laugh as she watched Jet nod with a reassuring smile.

"There is only one more, and I am hoping that you will enjoy this one as much as the others." Jet took a long breath before he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black velvet jewelry box.

Bulma's heart temporarily stopped, as she watched him open the small case before her; a blinding sapphire stone glistened before her wide eyes. The next five words she heard him whisper had been too much like a dream for her to believe, but as his voice echoed through her mind, she quickly realized it was in fact not a dream.

"Bulma, will you marry me?"

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Author's Note: Eek… This can't be good! What will Bulma's answer be? How will the other men in her life take the news? Are Trunks' hopes for his parents completely dashed? I guess you shall all just have to wait until next time…