Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unlikely Bond ❯ Wonders Never Cease ( Chapter 30 )

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

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters! If I did, the anime would never end and GT would have never happened!

Story notes: This takes place ten years after the Buu saga. The only differences I can think of is that the whole thing with the world tournament in the last episode never happened and Goku didn't leave to train Uub. I wouldn't count on anything from the movies being part of this story's time line either, 'cause I haven't seen them all and they usually don't fit into the show's time line anyway. Especially that Broly crap. Vegeta cried through, like, that whole movie! That certainly didn't happen in this story....but, that's a different rant altogether. Hope you enjoy!

PLEASE heed warning in story description!! If you missed it, this story is not for children! It is also not for people who do not like stories that contain elements of violence, strong language, adult situations, references to sex and sexual activity between men and women, and men and other men. Oh, and fictional alien men having babies...'cause that's a'happen' here folks...



“Good morning, Mr. Goku.”

Goku smiled at Daikkon as he was ushered into the exam room that Bulma had designated to be strictly for Goku’s care. She didn’t want any wide-eyed scientists trying to violate the alien’s privacy, and he had to admit that it was a good idea.

“How are you today?” Daikkon motioned for the older Saiyan to take a seat.

“Good, actually,” Goku replied, setting on the edge of the examination table. “Aside from the being sick part.”

He was, indeed, feeling exceptionally well that day. After his conversation with Vegeta the previous morning, he felt as though a bit of weight had been taken off his shoulders. And while most of Vegeta’s words still seemed a bit cryptic and wore on his mind, he was not uneasy or apprehensive about coming to Capsule Corp. as he had been in the last several weeks.

“That’s good to hear,” Daikkon told him. Goku turned his attention from the other man to look around the room.

“Where’s Bulma?” he asked.

“She told me that she would be in later. She had business with the young prince, I believe.”

“Trunks, huh?” Goku asked, chewing on his lip as he thought. He hadn’t seen his best friend’s eldest child since that ill-fated day on their back lawn. It was understandable, of course, as the youth was beginning his freshman year of college. His own son was barely visible since starting school.

“A very impressive young man,” Daikkon praised as he placed the blood pressure cuff around Goku’s bicep. “Intellect as well as strength.”

“You couldn’t really expect less,” Goku laughed. “With two parents who are both such overachievers.”

As if that was a cue to enter, Bulma opened the door and stepped inside. She smiled warmly at her friend.

“Sorry I’m late!” she spoke.

“You haven’t missed anything,” Goku grimaced. “I haven’t even started to sweat yet.” Bulma mirrored his expression as she dropped her purse and briefcase by the door.

“You act like we torture you in here! I swear, the strongest man in the world, and he can’t take having his blood pressure taken, his heart listened to and having to pee in a cup.”

Goku was quick to respond.

“You took blood!”

Bulma shrugged, trying to suppress a grin.

“It was one vial. Honestly...” She took his hands in hers and looked straight into his eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Fine...I’ve only thrown up twice since yesterday.”

Bulma shook her head at his sarcastic tone as she took the stethoscope that Daikkon offered her.

“Deep breath, kiddo...” she spoke to Goku, placing the instrument against his chest.

Goku looked down at his friend as she listened intently to the beating of his heart. He swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking.

“Bulma....” She looked up at him, arching her eyebrow but remaining silent. “Vegeta....Vegeta said that its...its heart is beating?...”

Bulma’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, and she stood up straight, pulling the stethoscope from her ears. Daikkon took that moment to move discreetly to the other side of the room.

“What? When did you talk to Vegeta?”

It was Goku’s turn to look confused.

“Yesterday....Didn’t he tell you?” Bulma shook her head in reply, crossing her arms over her chest and feeling her own heart begin to thump furiously. Her question was hesitant.

“What happened?”

Goku grinned again and took a deep breath before replying.

“Well...we talked. He told me how he felt about ...the situation...sort of...and, well....he kind of apologized...”

Bulma placed her hands on Goku’s thighs, her eyes boring into his.

“Apologized?” she asked, insistently. Goku nodded.

“I think that’s what it was. He tried to explain to me why he did it...and then he said that maybe he was not completely rational...and then he said that he wouldn’t try it again...sort of...”

Goku watched the expression on Bulma’s face go from intent to amazed to an odd expression that he couldn’t quite place. She dropped her head, looking down at the floor.

“Bulma?”

Bulma shook her head and looked back up to him, a smile on her face and her eyes shining.

“I’m sorry!” she laughed. “There was a question in there for me somewhere?”

Goku frowned.

“Um...oh...yeah...” he squirmed in his seat as he repeated. “The heartbeat?”

Bulma nodded.

“The heart starts to beat at around five weeks. Our conservative estimation puts you at seven weeks.” She chuckled and shook her head.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, sweetie...it’s just...” She waved her hands around, as if the motion would stir up the words she was looking for. “You’re....”

Goku looked down at his stomach as she motioned toward his belly.

“Oh...right...this is weird...”

“And I’m guessing this is really not hitting home for you yet?” she said, sitting down at his side. Goku hung his head.

“Vegeta mentioned that too...” he mumbled.

Bulma placed an arm around him and gently rubbed his back in a soothing manner.

“It’s okay. I didn’t feel pregnant with Trunks until the first time I saw him on the ultrasound screen. I was only six weeks at the time, but so rabid that my doctor did the scan to keep me from ripping her arms out of their sockets.” She chuckled again before noticing the worried, pensive expression on his face. “I was going to wait until you were at least eight weeks to suggest an ultrasound. But...I can do one...if you want to see the heart beat.”

Goku felt his throat constricting and a tightening in his chest. Slowly, he shook his head in the negative.

“Not yet?” Bulma supplied his answer, giving him an extra pat on the back. He nodded. “No problem. We will wait until you are ready.” She made a move to stand, but his quiet voice caught her off guard and stopped her in mid motion.

“Do you think I will ever be ready?”

Bulma settled back at his side and took his hand.

“I know this is scary, but you can do this...” she told him, smiling in an attempt to raise his spirits. “...If Vegeta can apologize, the world is open to all sorts of wonders.”

Goku’s own smile returned.

“Thank you.”

She didn’t reply, merely patted his arm and stood.

“You shouldn’t let it scare you, honey, and I know that is easy for me to say,” she began again, motioning him over to the scale. “You need to focus on the good stuff. The fun stuff!”

“Like what?” he asked, shedding his weighted wristbands and boots before stepping onto the machine.

“Oh come on! Don’t you remember when Chi Chi was going to have Gohan?” she asked.

Goku thought back. There were some very nice times on their journey to parenthood. Marveling over what they read in books and the little changes they could see week by week. His memory began to shift as he recalled the later phases...the discomfort, the moods, the ever growing belly.

“Like what?” he repeated. Bulma shook her head.

“Oh come on! - You can step down, by the way - You need to start easing yourself into the idea. Start thinking of names. Read some books. Think of it as training.”

“Ah, training!” he said wistfully, slumping into a chair.

“No one said that you had to quit training,” Daikkon spoke, almost shocking them with his presence.

“I almost forgot you were here,” Bulma laughed. Goku spoke next.

“I don’t?” Daikkon grimaced, shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t advise it. You shouldn’t do things that are strenuous to a Saiyan. Of those, there are not many. Routine training should not be a problem.”

“Maybe you should train at fifty percent,” Bulma broke in, adding an aside to the younger Saiyan: “You don’t know Goku.”

“Wow! Thanks!” Goku had a look of renewed vigor on his face. “I wonder what Piccolo is up to...Have you seen Yamucha lately?”

Bulma turned from Goku to Daikkon as her childhood friend continued to rattle on about his sparring fantasies.

“You might want to get the needle while he is distracted,” she whispered. “We might not get a better chance!”


Gohan pulled the stack of books into his arms and kicked his car door shut behind him. While neither the actual number of volumes nor their combined weight was any burden for the Saiyan, their stacked height was.

He felt for his wife’s ki to help guide him into the house and hopefully avoid any of Pan’s sports equipment laying in the yard.

“Videl!” He called, stepping precariously over a bicycle. “Honey, could you give me a hand?”

The ki was so familiar to him, so ever present in his life that he didn’t realize it was there until he was almost upon it.

The load he carried lessened by half, and the sight before him made him close his eyes and nearly groan.

“Thanks, Piccolo,” he spoke, opening his eyes and smiling. “How are you today?”

“I am well,” the Namekian replied, following the younger man into the house. “But you are avoiding me.”

“I’m not avoiding you!” Gohan lied, a nervous laugh escaping him. “I’ve just been really busy.”

The truth of the matter was, Gohan had been extra busy, but that was to keep from having to meet face to face with his old friend. Although his father had shared his story with his immediate family, he’d expressed his desire for it to remain a secret a while longer. Gohan didn’t know how he could face the Namek and not have the tale written all over his face.

Piccolo didn’t respond to his excuse, just merely smirked in disbelief.

“Oh, Gohan!” Videl greeted, joining them in the room. “Welcome home. And hello to you too, Piccolo.”

Piccolo inclined his head in reply.

“Videl.”

“It’s nice to see you. You haven’t been around these last several days.” Videl continued. “Where have you been? Off training?”

Piccolo glanced at Gohan, who seemed very interested in his books, before replying.

“Of a sort. I was trying to solve a small mystery.”

Gohan looked up.

“Sounds exciting,” Videl replied. “I’ll get some water and start some tea, and you call tell us about it. Would you like to stay for supper?”

“Regrettably, I cannot,” the Namekian told her. “I have another I will be meeting very soon.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. Well, I will be right back with some water...”

The two men were silent until she left.

“You have been avoiding me,” Piccolo spoke. Gohan sighed.

“No, Piccolo. Really. I haven’t been trying to avoid you.”

“You have succeeded just the same. You are still concerned about your father?”

Gohan’s eyes snapped up to meet his friend’s gaze.

“Why do you ask?”

“It was the last topic we discussed, his strange behavior. Did you discover its source?”

Gohan shook his head and peered around the door frame into the kitchen.

“Look, we can’t talk about this here...or now...”

“I believe that it is important. I have something to tell you about your father.”

Gohan stared at his former teacher in shock. What could he possibly have to say?

“Honey!” Gohan called to his wife. “Piccolo has to be going! I’m going to show him out!”

“Oh,” Videl made a noise of regret as she returned to the room. “Well, we’ll have to have tea and hear your story next time.” She smiled at him. “Don’t be a stranger, Piccolo.”

Piccolo bowed in parting before he and Gohan headed back out into the yard.

Gohan nervously rubbed his hands together.

“What did you want to tell me about Dad?”

Piccolo’s expression was serious and did nothing to ease Gohan’s nerves.

“Although I am not certain, I believe that he is not as well as he would have you believe.”

Gohan felt his lungs begin to stop functioning.

“No?”

“No.”

Piccolo stopped walking once the two were a good distance from the house.

“I do not mean to alarm you, Gohan, as my theory is as yet unconfirmed. I was on my way to see your father just now when I sensed your presence here.” Gohan nodded, but waited silently for his friend to continue. “I have been sensing strange fluctuations in your father’s ki. Minute, but disturbing. I’ve meditated on it a great deal, trying to pinpoint the cause of the disturbance.” His expression was grim as he continued. “And I began to detect, although very faint, the presence of a second ki signature within him. Gohan,” the warrior placed a hand on the young Saiyan’s shoulder, “I think that his captors infected him with some sort of organism....parasite...”

Gohan let out the breath he had been holding in a shocked huff.

“No...” he stated, shaking his head.

“It would explain his ill countenance and behavior,” Piccolo replied.

Gohan ran a hand through his hair.

“Can you really detect a second ki?” he asked. “I can’t.”

Piccolo nodded.

“I would suspect that your father can’t, either. My fusions with Nail and Kami greatly enhanced my sensitivity to ki. It is a skill that I trained hard to develop and refine. The signature I feel within your father is very faint...odd...but I get the impression it is drawing from him...”

Gohan took a deep breath and rubbed his weary eyes.

“Piccolo, I’m sorry that I have been avoiding you,” he began. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you...it’s just...it’s hard to not share with you the news that I have.” Piccolo narrowed his eyes.

“What news?”

“My father told me what is wrong with him,” Gohan began again, uneasily. “And he asked that I not repeat it. But,” Gohan gave a short laugh, “you’re so close it’s scary.”

Piccolo considered his words a moment before replying.

“So he has asked you not to divulge this information to anyone?”

Gohan nodded.

“He told me he would tell everyone when he felt the time was right.”

Piccolo thought on that statement as well.

“But I am close...” he murmured to himself. “What if I were to...guess?”

Gohan grimaced.

“I don’t know, Piccolo...my dad asked me not to tell...”

Piccolo nodded, rubbing his chin as he thought.

“...But I am close?” he asked, earning a hesitant nod from the young Saiyan. Piccolo thought on this information a minute. He knew for a fact there was a second ki inside of his former rival, and it was in some way parasitic. Goku was keeping this a secret for now, but he would reveal it when the timing was correct...

“You’re never going to guess,” Gohan sighed. “It’s...it’s unbelievable...”

Piccolo gave a questioning look to Gohan, noting the way the younger man looked back at him with unease.

“It’s not something that can harm him is it? Something that Dende could possibly help him with?”

Gohan shook his head, the same strange expression on his face.

“No. It’s natural...more or less...”

Piccolo grimaced.

“Natural...” Again, he took a moment to ponder. “How can it be? It has to do with the Saiyans, correct?”

Gohan gave one slow nod in reply.

“Then it has to be something sinister. Something that is leeching his system. That is not natural, Gohan. It is some sort of parasite, not an infant.”

Gohan’s eyes grew wide as he looked back up at the Namekian. Piccolo frowned.

“What?”

“I...I can’t say...” Gohan stammered.

Piccolo frowned.

“Gohan...” he began slowly. “You’re...you’re not telling me that your father is...is...with child...are you?”

Gohan’s voice was pitched higher than normal as he forced out his answer.

“No, because he asked me not to tell!”

Piccolo observed a moment of blatant shock. He quickly recovered.

“How...how did that happen?” he asked the younger man out of concern and just plain curiosity. “Saiyans are not capable of asexual reproduction, I fear.”

Gohan sighed again, heavier and dropped onto an overturned tennis ball cage that was abandoned in the yard.

“We’re not. It’s a long story, Piccolo. But he says that he is doing well. Physically, I would say that he is. Emotionally...well, I can only hope that he is.”

Piccolo nodded in agreement.

“I would assume that your father has chosen to continue this pregnancy then?” he observed. “I would expect nothing less of Son Goku.” Gohan nodded.

“Yeah...”

Piccolo watched his young friend who was staring at the ground, absently rolling a stray tennis ball under his foot. Piccolo laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Gohan...if I had known what had happened aboard that craft...I would have avenged your father. I wouldn’t have advocated such a hasty withdrawal.”

Gohan shook his head, but smiled at the sentiment.

“With children involved, it was best that we get out of there quickly. Besides,” he grimaced as he finished, “Vegeta avenged him...and himself...”

“Vegeta?” Piccolo questioned, quite taken aback. “...him as well?”

“Yes, but not how you think.” Gohan stood and faced his friend. “My father’s child is also Vegeta’s.”

Piccolo’s jaw went slack.

“That was my sentiment as well,” Gohan replied. “But I suppose if it had to be anyone’s...”

Piccolo shook his head; the information was quite unbelievable.

“Under such circumstances it is noble of your father to continue to host this child within him. I assume that Vegeta wanted him to do otherwise? Is that what we witnessed that day?”

Gohan nodded in the affirmative, remembering when they found his father on the river bank, on his knees and crying.

“Father seems determined to make the best of this. I can only hope that he is not pushing himself to be too strong. I hope that he is taking the time to reflect and let himself become used to the idea.” Gohan smiled a bit. “I mean, Videl and I both wanted Pan with all our hearts, but when the realization sunk in that we were having a baby! It was tremendously powerful...I can’t imagine how we would have felt if...well...that is really comparing apples and oranges, I guess...”

“Indeed,” Piccolo stated.

“Please don’t tell my father that I didn’t keep my word...” Gohan asked of Piccolo. “I’ll tell him.”

“I don’t think I will visit him today,” Piccolo spoke. “I...I will give him his space for now. I will wait for him to choose when he is ready to face me.”

“Thank you, Piccolo.”

Piccolo nodded.

“Take care, Gohan.” The Namekian turned to leave. “And if you do speak with your father, tell him that he has my respect.”

Gohan smiled.

“That will mean a great deal to him, thank you.”

Piccolo gave one final nod of farewell before he took off in the direction of the Lookout.


Vegeta was laying in the den on the sofa, his feet propped up on a cushion and his arms folded beneath his head. He was attempting an afternoon nap in the odd silence that had fallen over Capsule Corp. now that his children had started back to school.

As calm and rested as he was, he was acutely aware of Kakkarot’s presence on the grounds. He was no doubt there for one of Bulma’s little check-ups to make sure that he was progressing well. Vegeta gave a grunt at the thought. While it certainly didn’t make him happy, it no longer held the stigma that it once had. It no longer made him angry. His own behavior had outmatched anything Kakkarot had done...or didn’t do.

He lay there with his eyes closed, unable to drift into sleep with the other Saiyan so near. But when his ki signature began to fade, so did Vegeta’s consciousness.

That is, until Bulma showed up.

“Hey, honey,” she greeted, slipping onto the sofa with him, straddling his hips.

Vegeta opened one eye to her, frowning.

“Am I not allowed any time to rest?” he inquired dryly.

“Oh,” she laughed, leaning down to kiss the exposed section of his collarbone above the crew neck of T-shirt. “You just relax away.”

Vegeta took a deep breath as his wife continued to nuzzle at his throat, her hands roaming down his chest and slipping beneath the material of his shirt. It pleased him that she was no longer upset with him. Made him feel strangely peaceful.

Vegeta felt Bulma’s weight relax against him and he pulled his arms up around her. She settled her head against his shoulder and lay quietly with him a moment before speaking.

“I love you, Vegeta.”

Her voice was a throaty whisper and music to his ears. He felt as though he hadn’t heard those three simple words in an eternity.

“Mm...” he grunted in reply.

Another moment of silence passed between them. Bulma began to fidget with the collar of his shirt.

“I don’t know if I say it enough, hon, but...I am really proud of you.” She couldn’t see the eyebrow her words raised, but her instincts told her that it had risen. “Especially today.”

Vegeta smirked, his eyes closing.

“How so?”

Bulma continued to twist the fabric of his collar between her fingers before answering him.

“Goku told me that...that you spoke to him,” she said in a quiet voice. “He seemed really happy about that...and I can’t tell you how proud that makes me!”

Vegeta flinched at the emotion that was evident in her tone. She was proud, but also happy and sad at the same time. It surprised him a bit that he didn’t feel embarrassed by her words, but oddly fulfilled.

Bulma leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Vegeta pulled her closer down against him, trying to shut out his guilt and focus on nothing but that kiss.

“It’s going to be okay,” Bulma told him after pulling back from him. Their foreheads touched as she looked down into his eyes. “You did the right thing...it will be okay...”

Vegeta gave an almost imperceptible nod in reply.

Bulma knew that he probably didn’t agree with her and he certainly wouldn’t ask her for information on the subject of Goku’s wellbeing. She knew that he had to be somewhat curious. His attitude had been the same with both of her pregnancies: distant, yet always around when she needed him.

“Goku is doing great,” she told him, sitting back up and resting her hands on his chest. “His hormone levels are good. Blood pressure is good. And that little brat still has a flat stomach,” she chuckled to herself. “That won’t last much longer, of course...”

Vegeta was silent as he listened to her ramble.

“It would seem his morning sickness is still in full force, and he still has dizzy spells. I was lucky not to have any of that with Trunks, but if you remember, I spent most of my pregnancy with Bulla in the bathroom.”

Vegeta spoke quietly.

“I remember.”

Bulma looked down at him with a thoughtful expression.

“You really are the best thing that ever happened to me, Vegeta. You know that?”

He smirked at her sentiment.

“I thought the brats were,” he responded, dryly. It was Bulma’s turn to smirk.

“And who do you think gave me those brats?” she asked him in a suggestive tone.

Vegeta didn’t have a response.

“Do you know,” she began in a serious manner, as their eyes locked, “how incredibly sexy I find you at this moment?” When he again failed to respond, she continued. “Very, incredibly sexy.”

“Indeed?” he replied.

“Indeed,” Bulma repeated, leaning down to capture his mouth yet again. She pressed herself down against him, eager to feel the fire that was so distinctly Vegeta, something she hadn’t felt for days. Vegeta returned her kiss, intimately, deeply...obediently.

Bulma sighed, pushing herself back up and looking down on him again.

“You....you wanna take a bath?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Vegeta considered her words a moment before replying.

“I’m clean, but...I would like to...talk.”

Bulma slipped off his lap and he sat up, righting himself on the sofa and leaning back. Bulma pulled her legs up under herself and waited patiently for him to begin.

There was a long moment of silence.

“…” At last Bulma tilted her head to the side and tried to make eye contact with him. “...well?”

Vegeta turned to her, his brows drawn together his forehead creased in concern.

“How is it that you do not hate me?” he asked.

Bulma gasped in shock at the unexpected question.

“What?!”

Vegeta shrugged.

“I have given it a lot of thought. Yes, I am aware that you love me...that we are married...mated...that I fathered your children...” He waved his hands for a moment at a loss for words before dropping them to his lap. “But you are a highly intelligent woman, Bulma. How is it that you would allow such...evil...such insane malevolence…such inconsideration, such disrespect to continue for so many years...”

Bulma’s eyes were wide and round as she listened to him. When he finished, she turned away, stood up and began to pace the floor in front of him.

“Wow...” she spoke, rubbing her fingertips absently across her lips. “That...uh...that’s a pretty deep question.”

Vegeta sighed, shaking his head at her obvious misunderstanding.

“But a perfectly valid one, I believe.” Bulma turned to him.

“Honey - ”

“Is it not true?” he demanded in earnest. “I would never allow another being to treat you or our children in the same manner in which I do.”

Bulma shook her head slowly.

“Nor would you allow another being to treat you the way you treat yourself,” she pointed out. Vegeta pursed his lips together at her remark.

“We are not speaking of that,” he snapped.

“Vegeta, listen,” Bulma began again, sinking back onto the sofa at his side. “Do you know that I love you?”

Vegeta grimaced.

“Well?” she pressed. Vegeta gave a grunt of annoyance.

“...Yes.”

Bulma touched his face gently, forcing him to look into her eyes.

“Really?”

She could see him relax, and he answered in a quiet tone.

“Yes.”

“Then tell me what’s really bothering you. Please. Vegeta, I know that you are strong. I respect you for that. But sometimes strength is sharing your feelings with people.” She took his hands in hers. “It takes courage to speak what you feel. I know that you are strong enough for that, too.”

Vegeta stared at her a moment. The woman really knew exactly what to say to get him to do what she wanted. And he was tired. Tired of running from her. Tired of running from himself.

“I...” he began hesitantly. “I...don’t think I can forgive myself so easily as you do...”

“Don’t be ridiculous - ”

“No,” Vegeta cut her off, passionate once more. “You want to see that I am unafraid to speak my heart; well, here is it. I do not deserve your forgiveness. I do not deserve the children’s forgiveness. I do not deserve his forgiveness. I have done nothing to warrant such leniency.” He stood, his agitation obvious in his stance.

“Vegeta, how can you say such a thing?” Vegeta’s reply was a shout.

“Look what I have done!”

Bulma challenged him.

“Look what was done to you!”

Vegeta’s mouth snapped shut, and he frowned. Bulma’s expression was almost identical.

“Vegeta, you and I both know that if you had wanted to hurt Goku, really hurt him, you would have done it. Your power levels are not so drastically different.” Vegeta turned away from her. He knew that he had second guessed himself at the time of his battle with Kakkarot, but he had attributed that to his own weakness at the time. “Yes, what you tried was horrible, but damnit, how do you expect to function in such pain! You live life in a constant state of pain! You're constantly blaming yourself for what you've done, what you haven’t done...You want to punish yourself for trying to hurt him, but you also want to punish yourself for not hurting him. You want to punish yourself for thinking you are a bad father, but then your berate yourself for showing your love for them too! Vegeta!” She pressed her hands to the side of his face, turning him to look at her. “You have grown so much and come so far! The last hurdle you have to overcome is you. The last wall you have to pull down is the one you have built yourself...Gods! I love you so much, but I can’t do it for you! My love alone cannot help you...you have to want to...”

His answer was so serious and quiet; that in itself shocked her.

“You think I don’t?”

Slowly, Vegeta brought his hands up to hers, and he lowered them from his face. Bulma sighed.

“I know that you do...I also know that you don’t know where to start...But honey,” she smiled at him then, the same mix of pride and sadness in her eyes as before. “You have started! With Trunks...and now with Goku...”

Bulma could see the conflict within him at the very idea of changing his relationship with the younger Saiyan.

“And I respect you for that,” she told him, honestly. "And you will respect yourself, too. Because you will beat those demons that are trying to hold you back. And when they haunt you and try to tell you that you are weak, do you know what you will say?”

Vegeta shook his head, intent on her words. Bulma smiled widely.

“Fuck. You.” she stated boldly. “That is what you will tell them. Fuck all of you. I am the Prince of Saiyans. And I am alive and well, and my children will carry out my legacy. All of my children...my son and daughter with my most beloved, genius earth woman.” Vegeta’s mouth twitched slightly in amusement as Bulma continued softly. “...and my child with my most trusted ally...the child of the two strongest warriors in the universe...” Vegeta closed his eyes and listened to his wife as she finished speaking her mind. “That baby is proof of just how strong and worthy you are, Vegeta. That you sacrificed yourself for something you thought more precious, more important...you should be proud...I am...”

Vegeta felt calm listening to her speak, the swirling onslaught of conflicting emotions for a moment stilling in his mind. She made it seem so simple, so...possible...

Was it?

“...I have never in my life...done to another...what...what he - ” Vegeta struggled to keep his voice even, his eyes starting to sting from feelings he wasn’t aware were so strong in himself. Bulma gently placed her fingertips on his lips, silencing him.

“And you haven’t,” she assured him. “You haven’t.”

Vegeta leaned down and embraced her. The gesture was neither sensual or romantic, but grateful.

“I will never believe that I am worthy of you,” he murmured, holding her against him.

“That’s the beauty of love, dear,” she replied, returning his hug. “That’s my call.”

Vegeta took a deep breath before pulling away to look down upon her. She smiled back at him, her blue eyes shining with the warmth of her affection. Slowly, the prince lowered his mouth to hers, their lips meeting in an intimate caress.

Vegeta knew she was right. That quite possibly he was the last thing standing in the way of his own happiness. And he wanted it. He wanted to break through the barriers that he had built to protect himself, now that he realized that protecting himself was not the most important thing in life. He had the chance to take back what was taken from him. He wanted love and affection and real pride.

And most of all...he actually wanted peace...


A/N: As always, I hope that ya'll liked this chapter. I hope the pace isn't too slow for anyone, but it should actually start picking up with the next several chapter. But, I feel like I have reached a milestone! 30 chapters! Woohoo! I hope it doesn't take another 30! O.o LOL! Anway, hoped you all liked. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews and messages on the Salon. You guys are what makes writing this REALLY worthwhile! -B°