Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Prompted VegetaBulma ❯ Brutal Honesty ( Chapter 26 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Prompt: "Courage".

Disclaimer: I do NOT own DBZ or any of the characters. They belong to Akira Toriyama.

Bulma entered the bedroom she’d been sharing with Vegeta for 5 years now, to find him packing a duffel bag full of clothes. “What are you doing?” She froze in her steps, as he looked up at her with the ‘you know exactly what I’m doing’ look. “I’m not kicking you out, and I certainly don’t want you to leave,” she told him, her steps picking back up.

He sighed lightly before looking down at his half-packed bag. He was expecting the answer that he knew he wasn’t worthy of. Not after the events that had come to pass. He had done plenty of terrible acts in the past, so why was this different? Why did he feel like complete and utter shit. He didn’t even want to look himself in mirror, let alone face his wife. That’s why he had been packing as she was putting the boy to bed and telling her parents of the events. Unfortunately, he had lingered just a bit too long when he had first entered the room. A room that now held so many bright and pleasant memories that he hadn’t deserved.

He finally looked up from his musing as a soft, gentle hand touched his chin. “You weren’t yourself when it happened. You were being controlled by that Babidi guy, right?”

His eyes shifted away from hers, giving her an answer she didn’t like. “And if what you’re saying isn’t true?”

Her hand dropped away from him, and she pulled herself away from him only slightly. “Vegeta,” his name came out in a whispered half-question, half-disbelieving tone.

He crossed his arms against his chest and turned his back to her before walking over to the narrow rectangular window. He didn’t want to tell her the truth of the situation, but if she asked him, he knew he wouldn’t be able to lie about it. He had always been an honest man, and he wouldn’t stop now just because it would ultimately uproot his life. What was so new about that, anyway? He’d gone through worse hell than telling somebody the raw and ugly truth before. So why was he dreading the questions he knew she was about to ask him?

“You let him take over your mind?” she finally got the question out after thinking it through. “You purposely killed all those innocent bystanders?” her voice raised a little as the anger burned a little deeper with each realization she came to. The truths that had hidden themselves away when she‘d found out he‘d died to protect everyone. Then receded even further back when he‘d been granted life again. “All so you could have your petty little match with Son-kun?!” her voice a pitch below screeching now. Her hands were balled at her waist, not wanting to believe how stupid and selfishly Vegeta had acted, yet again.

He was on her in a flash. So fast, she was still fuming when his thumb and forefinger pressed harshly into her cheekbones as his heavy breath hit her face. For a moment fear passed through her when she finally felt his grip on her. If he had reverted back to his old ways, he may actually harm or kill her. Yet, he surprised her.

“I know that now,” he growled. His breathing settled to a normal pace, and his fingers relaxed their hold and moved to her chin. His eyes finally caught hers. They were still widened with the fear he had caused to spark within her brain. A feeling he thought impossible to invoke in her after all these years of being together. “It was fucking stupid of me. I know,” he whispered the last part. His hand dropping from it’s position of touching her, tainting her.

She felt her heart rate calm as his anger dissolved into his usual state of annoyance. “Then why?” her voice came out a little more hushed than she would’ve liked.

“You’re sure you want the answer to that?” his tone serious and warning. He wouldn’t back down or be any less offensive for her sake.

She backed away from him to sit on the edge of the bed, next to the bag he had been packing. “I have a right to know why my husband desired to be evil again.” She knew she wasn’t going to like the answer, but it would always plague her mind if she didn’t get the truth from him now.

His thumb raised unconsciously to his mouth and he bit down on it in frustration and distress. This was the moment he had been trying to avoid. This conversation, this question, giving her the answers she was probably putting together in her head at this very moment. This was why he had never wanted to settle down, to mate, with anyone. She was able to read him like an open book without him even having to open his mouth, a fact he didn’t like or was comfortable with.

“Don’t make me put words in your mouth, Vegeta,” she warned, her emotions getting the better of her. The more time he spent chewing on that damn thumb of his, the more her mind realized just how much it suddenly didn’t want the truth.

“I lost my edge living here with you and Trunks. I’ve turned soft over these years of peace and happiness.” The last word left a bitter taste on tongue, but he continued on, his furrow deepening. “I thought that if I pushed you, Trunks, and all those other peaceful occurrences out and regained my old self I could truly defeat Kakarot.” He let out a small displeased chuckle. “That, along with the power up Babidi gave me. Yet it still was barely enough.” He was now pacing the length of the bed, not once looking over at Bulma. “Shit. Stupid fucking Kakarot!” His hand balled into a fist, and he finally glanced over to the woman. “That son-of-a-bitch lied to me! He was fucking holding back on me, taking pity on me yet again!”

Bulma reached out, her hand cautiously touching the straining muscles of Vegeta’s arm. “I’m sure it wasn’t Son-kun’s intention to take pity on you. That’s just who he is. You of all people should know that.”

Vegeta stopped his ranting at the gentle pressing on his arm. His muscles relaxed slightly, not yet ready to let go of all the pent up anger. He jerked away from her touch, stepping a few more paces away from the bed. “He knew,” he said quietly, his eyes darted to hers quickly then back toward the far wall of the room. “I couldn’t even fool Kakarot, the retard that he is.”

Bulma sat silently. She had asked for the truth, and there it was. It hadn’t sounded as awful as she thought it would. In fact, she knew Vegeta had been struggling with a lot of his issues over the years yet there were always the few that would linger on for the rest of his life. Things she knew would probably drive an ordinary human up the wall with fear, regret, and shame. The things he was perfectly okay with because that was the type of person he had been until he ran into Goku. “So, you thought Trunks and I were holding you back?” she asked softly. She wasn’t sure if it was the smartest thing to ask at this point as she watched the brooding Saiyan look at her again.

“I’ve developed feelings,” he spit the last word, “for you and the boy. Things a warrior shouldn’t feel. Things that get us killed because we are too distracted making sure we’re not harming others.”

She leaned forward, her hand covering his bicep again. “That’s not who you are anymore, though. You don’t have to fight to survive….” She was pushed back onto the bed by his strong hand.

He didn’t want her reassuring touch or praise. He wanted her to get mad, to kick him out, maybe even try to fight him a little. “And you know I don’t care for any of it!” he seethed, watching her sit up.

“Then why did you stay? If you weren’t happy you could’ve left.” She could feel her anger now surfacing. “And don’t throw the bullshit of you had nowhere else to go,” she said angrily as he opened his mouth before watching him close it again. “If you didn’t want to be with me, why did you agree to marry me all those years ago? Why did you tell me about Planet Vegeta’s customs of such things? You didn’t have to, you know?”

Vegeta felt his heart tighten at her words, but glad that she was finally getting pissed and fighting back against him verbally. “I had succumbed to life on Earth. I wanted to stay to train Trunks.” A hand rubbed at his forehead as he went to lean on the dresser where his clothes were stored.

“So I was a convenience for you? While you stayed here to train your son that you didn’t even want?” His eyes once again caught hers, warning her that she was treading on dangerous territory. “I don’t fucking buy it, Vegeta!”

“Well, you are the genius here. You already figured everything else out for yourself with so little prompting from me.”

She stood up again and walked over to him. Her hands balling into fists again, and she placed them on his chest. “I know you don’t do ‘emotions’ and ‘feelings’ but you have them, nonetheless,” she stated while pressing her fists into his chest. “I know they scare you sometimes, especially when you first realized what exactly it was you were feeling.” She relaxed a little, her hands un-balling and going to her side. “All I ever wanted from you was to stay here with us. To train Trunks and perhaps teach him about his Saiyan background.” She sighed. “I want to hear the words from your mouth, if only this once. Besides.” She smirked a little. “You’ve already told me enough harsh reality. I think I deserve a little niceness to go with it.”

He crossed his arms again, and her hands settled on his forearms. This time he didn’t try to shake her off. His eyes met hers, not wanting her to think he was going to be a coward. “I wanted to marry you,” he ground out. “I enjoyed my time with both you and Trunks. Although it’s still something I’m not comfortable with.” He relaxed his body, his arms unfolding and grabbed her arms, wrapping them around his chest. He pushed her head next to his. He couldn’t say the next words to her face, but he knew she would understand. “You wanted me to be yours in your Earthling way, so I wanted you to be mine in the Saiyan way.”

“Vegeta.” She wanted to cry. She could feel the tears building behind her eyes, but held them back as best she could.

He could feel the heat growing on his face. “You love me, so I’ll return it the only way I am able to.”

She pressed her face into his shoulder, letting the tears finally falling. “Don’t leave me again, Vegeta.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he told her softly. “I think it’s best I stay away from you for at least a few days. I’ll stay at Capsule, though, okay?”

She nodded against his shoulder. She supposed it was only fair to let him have some solitude after all they’d been through. “I understand. Just come back whenever you’re ready.”

He finally pulled back to look at her and gave her a slight nod.