Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unlikely Bond ❯ Maybe ( Chapter 75 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: bdegrees 
Thoughts and reactions to recent events...
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.25.2008 | Pages: 9 | Words: 9.0K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
Thoughts and reactions to recent events...
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.25.2008 | Pages: 9 | Words: 9.0K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
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...
To my wonderful, wonderful beta-reader, Rowina: Thank you. Where would I ever be without you?... up piss-poor grammar river, that's where... ^_^
Chi Chi couldn’t believe her ears, but her eyes could tell by the guilty look on her husband’s face that she had heard him all too clearly. Sadness and hurt battled to prevail over wrath as her current reigning emotion. Through clenched teeth, she finally spoke.
“What did you just say?” It was all that she could vocalize, even though she didn’t doubt what had been said.
Goku hung his head, ashamed as he answered.
“I think I was unfaithful --”
Before the words were completely out of his mouth, Chi Chi railed.
“Son Goku, how could you!? Have I not sacrificed enough? How can you just --” She stopped mid sentence to change her line of questioning. “What do you mean ‘you think’ you’ve been unfaithful?”
Goku didn’t look up at her. There was an ache in the pit of his stomach, and his feelings seemed to toss inside him like an untethered raft in a storm.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen...” he spoke softly. Chi Chi clenched her hands into the fabric of her nightgown, trying her best to resist reaching out to slap him in the head. “It just... happened....”
***
Vegeta opened his eyes. The look on the third class’s face was a fascinating mix of surprise, realization and fear. The heavy beating of Goku’s heart was almost audible in the quiet, dark cave, and he could feel it thudding heavily in his chest.
Vegeta could feel it too -- just in a vastly different place.
“Get up,” the prince spoke in a dry whisper. The command bordered on a plea.
Embarrassed, Goku scrambled to his feet, turning from the older Saiyan and running a hand down the front of his pants, trying desperately to adjust the fabric so his erection wasn’t quite so obvious. Hesitantly, he peered over his shoulder.
Vegeta was coolly dusting the sleeves of his shirt free from the debris on the cave floor. He stood proudly, shoulders square, facing away from Goku. Both men were quiet for a long, awkward moment.
Goku was confused. At his age, he was no stranger to the odd and sometimes inappropriate times his body reacted to a stimulus, but this wasn’t just a physical response. It wasn’t just the product of adrenalin and extra blood flow. For a moment, as he looked at the softly panting, handsome Saiyan royal, Goku felt... desire. He felt it in his body, and he felt it in his heart.
And now he felt guilt.
How, after everything that had happened, could he find himself having these kinds of feelings for Vegeta? How could he do this to Chi Chi? What was wrong with him?
For several moments, neither man spoke nor made any movement. Again, Goku looked over his shoulder, checking to see if Vegeta was still turned away. The older Saiyan was looking his way, arms crossed over his chest, the same odd expression of concerned contemplation of his face that he’d worn earlier.
“Good night, Kakkarot,” Vegeta spoke suddenly, turning from the cave. Goku watched him go, not attempting to speak or stop him.
The last person he needed to be alone with right now was the prince.
***
“That’s it?”
Goku looked up at his wife, surprised by her words.
“Isn’t it enough?” he asked miserably.
Chi Chi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before letting it out in a huff.
“So, what you are telling me is: you wrestled around with Vegeta, and you noticed that you had intimate feelings toward him?” she paraphrased. Goku squirmed uncomfortably where he now sat on the end of the bed. It was twice as bad to hear it so bluntly vocalized.
“I’m confused!” he replied. “And I know that is no excuse. I would never, ever want to hurt you, Chi Chi.”
The dark haired princess closed her eyes again, rubbing a hand across her tense forehead.
“I know, Goku,” she said weakly. “I know...”
Goku stood, wanting to reach out to his wife but afraid to make the attempt.
“Chi Chi --”
“I’m confused too, Goku,” she spoke before he could say anything further. She turned to look up at him, no trace of anger in her eyes, but oddly enough she wore the same expression the prince had -- thoughtful and concerned. Chi Chi sat down on the bed. “Very confused,” she continued. Goku sat down gently at her side.
“Do you hate me?” he asked quietly.
“For what?” she asked, turning to him. “For having a feeling? You can’t help that... You’ve done nothing wrong.” She shook her head, closing her hands in her lap. “You’ve done a lot of dumb and inconsiderate things in our married life, Son Goku, but I know you could never cheat.”
She wasn’t even sure it would be cheating with Vegeta, anyway. Vegeta was the father of his children. He should have feelings for him....
“Don’t work yourself up over it,” she reprimanded him, rising from the bed. “Get some sleep, and we’ll talk more on this in the morning.” Goku stood as she did.
“But --”
“No ‘buts’,” she said firmly. “We have to be up early to see Dr. and Mrs. Briefs off, and we promised Bulla that we would be there to say goodbye. It's hard enough to wake you when you've had a full night's sleep.”
Obediently, but with a heavy heart, Goku slipped out of his coat, boots and his pajamas that were still covered in dust. Slowly, he crawled into bed beside his wife. He was confused by her reaction, even more so than by his own. Why wasn’t she angry? Shouldn’t she be furious?
He just didn’t want her to be sad. Like she had said, he’d done a lot of dumb and inconsiderate things in their marriage; he wanted to be done making her sad.
Chi Chi tried not to loudly release the breath she’d been holding, lest it sound like a sigh. She didn’t want to appear upset when truthfully, she wasn’t sure how she felt. He hadn’t cheated. He felt attraction for Vegeta, but he hadn’t acted on it, and he had been immediately remorseful and honest about it. She wasn’t sure there was anything to fault him for in that.
Many years ago, she would have determined that an attraction was just as heinous as an act. But now... this situation wasn’t simply black and white to her.
Chi Chi could tell that Goku was still awake, but she had nothing to say. She was just as confused and troubled as he.
Why was she no longer angry?
She loved the man at her side with all of her heart and soul and mind. She couldn’t imagine him with anyone else but her.
And he wasn’t, she told herself. He was at her side, and Vegeta was with his wife, she was sure. And tomorrow they would wake up and be two separate families....
Chi Chi slung an arm across her eyes, trying to concentrate on sleep. She was making a mountain out of a molehill. Everything would be clearer in the morning. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what the odds were that she would get to hear Vegeta’s side of the story.
This morning, however, he was sitting in a chair across from the bed, staring at her. Not normal.
Bulma frowned.
“Good morning,” she greeted, slowly sitting up and combing her fingers through her wild hair. “What are you doing?”
“I promised the girl that I would be up when she left,” he replied. Bulma reached over and turned off her alarm clock. She had the feeling that she wouldn’t be getting an extra ten minutes of sleep this morning.
“Okay...” she began again. “So... why are you wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday?”
Vegeta glanced down at his attire, his mouth twitching in irritation. Bulma could see that he had overlooked that fact.
“What happened?” she asked, pulling her knees up and resting her arms across them.
“Nothing,” he replied, and continued hesitantly, “but I feel I should tell you anyway. It is something that you might want to know.”
Bulma raised an eyebrow.
“Then by all means,” she spoke, “let’s hear it.”
Vegeta’s posture didn’t change. He sat straight in his chair, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I had... what one might consider... an inappropriate contact with.... Kakkarot.”
“What?!” Bulma’s voice was louder than she thought it would sound when she exclaimed. The very idea was simply ridiculous to her. “Inappropriate how?”
Vegeta considered the question. He wasn’t really sure. They had been wrestling, not making out. What happened had not been intentional on either’s part.
“While sparring...” he began, “we arrived, somehow, in a rather... compromising position.”
Bulma’s mouth dropped open.
“What?”
Vegeta sighed.
“You heard me, woman.”
“Well, yeah, I heard you,” she replied, rising from the bed and moving to sit on the edge, across from his chair. “But I didn’t understand you. Did you... kiss or something?”
Vegeta wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“No,” he retorted hotly.
“Then I don’t know what you mean!” Bulma replied. “Or why you are telling me this! I mean, I want to know if you two are intentionally groping each other, but I don’t need to know if you accidentally touched someone’s balls.” Vegeta was staring back at her in irritation. Bulma crossed her arms. “I can tell by your demeanor that it was something in between...” she observed. Vegeta’s expression softened, and he finally looked away. Bulma felt her mouth go dry. “Wow,” she said softly. She had often joked about her husband and her best friend having encounters, but now that it was quite possibly a reality, she wasn’t sure how to feel. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her mind, only to realize that it was already empty. She was at a loss for thought. “Wow,” she repeated.
“It was nothing like that,” Vegeta grumbled uncomfortably. “We... simply ended up too close and too...” He searched for a word to complete his thought, but he couldn’t find anything appropriate in an earth tongue. He whispered something in Saiyan quietly to himself.
Bulma looked up at him.
“Do... do you have feelings for him?” she asked. “Have your feelings for him changed?”
Vegeta frowned at the vulnerable look on his wife’s beautiful face, her soft blue eyes gazing into his, searching.
“I...” the prince began. “I am unsure of what to tell you,” he spoke honestly. “My feelings from when? A year ago? Ten years ago? Yes, Bulma. They have.” Bulma bit her lip, watching him as he continued speaking, idly twisting the platinum band on her finger. “It is pointless to try and speak in any way but plainly to you, woman. You know my heart better than I do. I have come to admire the buffoon. I am indebted to him for his courage, for his selflessness and his mercy. But in this instance, in the situation in which we found ourselves this evening... it is not my feelings for Kakkarot that concern me,” Vegeta took a deep breath as he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, “but his feelings for me.”
Bulma’s eyebrows rose and her mouth opened.
“Oh...” she breathed.
The prince sighed.
Bulma was quiet as she considered his words. So Goku was attracted to Vegeta. She couldn’t fault him in that -- Vegeta was a stone-cold sexy man in her opinion. She felt sorry for her friend. She knew that he would never in a million years wish to do anything inappropriate.
“It will be okay,” Bulma decided, patting the prince on the thigh. “I’m sure that it’s just a phase.” She stood up, taking her husband’s hand. “Come on. We’re running short on time so we’ll have to share the shower. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the dust in your hair?”
Vegeta followed behind the woman, scowling at her comment.
Even though he had spent the entire night contemplating and replaying in his mind the incident of that evening, he couldn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense, phase or not, for Kakkarot to be feeling anything but friendship for him. Certainly not physical attraction. Vegeta cringed when he remembered the experience they shared while held captive; it was nothing to want repeated. So how could Kakkarot feel the way he did, even for a fraction of time? Yes, he and Kakkarot were parents together, but they were not mates! Kakkarot should require nothing of him but to be a good father to their young.
“Bulma,” Vegeta spoke quietly, stopping her. He averted his eyes from hers as he usually did when embarrassed by a show of emotion. “I would not like Kakkarot to feel any humiliation in this... if we could please keep this between us?”
“Who would I tell!?” Bulma responded. Vegeta raised a brow. “I wouldn’t tell Yamucha this!” she defended. “This is... wow... something that I would have never seen coming.”
“You’re not the only one,” he replied dryly.
Bulma reached out and gently touched her husband’s face.
“I’m serious,” she said. “Everything will be fine.”
Vegeta nodded. She was right, he knew it. Everything had to be fine. He and Kakkarot were parents together.
They had no other choice.
“I wished you’d have planned this sooner,” Bulma told him with mock disappointment. “We could have made it a whole family trip.”
Trunks sighed.
“Yeah... bummer.”
Bulma laughed, giving her son a big hug.
“You two have a great time,” she told him.
“We will,” he assured her. “The lodge said the snow up there is perfect, and they’ve just put in a new snowboarding course. There are events planned for every day.”
“Well, don’t get hurt,” she spoke, knowing full well that it was near impossible.
“I won’t. Goodbye Aunt Chi Chi, Dad.”
Vegeta nodded from his seat on the sofa, but offered nothing further.
“Are we all set?” Goten asked, clapping his hands once together and giving his friend a grin. “The slopes are waiting.”
“They aren’t going anywhere,” Trunks replied.
“You never know. Global warming and all that...Bye, Mom.” He hugged Chi Chi tightly. “Bye Aunt B, Vegeta. Tell Dad we’ll bring him back a souvenir.”
“We will,” Chi Chi agreed. The two women watched their sons settle into the hover car and give a final wave before taking to the sky.
As soon as the young men were out of sight, a weight seemed to descend and the mood in the room became noticeably somber. After the departure of Bulla and her grandparents, and now Trunks and Goten, the large house felt eerily deserted even with the seven occupants who remained.
Chi Chi had decided earlier that morning to let Goku sleep and had given everyone well wishes for him. She was uncertain of how the day would develop, and a part of her wanted to protect him from anything unpleasant for as long as possible. Now it was just she who shared the awkward silence with Vegeta and Bulma.
“Well,” she spoke, “I’ll put on another pot of coffee.” She was well aware of the less than subtle look of concern that Bulma gave her spouse. Obviously, Vegeta had a confession of his own last night. She couldn’t imagine what his version of events might have been.
Quietly, Vegeta and Bulma followed Chi Chi into the kitchen. Vegeta seated himself at the bar and Bulma leaned against the counter, both watching the younger woman prepare the coffee.
“The boys decided on this trip rather suddenly,” Chi Chi commented casually, cutting a large slice of the spiced apple coffee cake she had made that morning. She placed the plate in front of the prince.
“They probably just wanted some alone time,” Bulma suggested. “To be by themselves and be romantic.”
Chi Chi gave a smile as she placed a plate in front of Bulma. As preoccupied as she was over Goku, the reality of her son’s relationship with a boy as sweet and accomplished as Trunks was a joy.
Vegeta gave a grunt in response to his wife’s comment, but continued to eat.
“And...” Bulma continued with a mischievous grin, “they probably want a chance to be lovey-dovey without us teasing and mocking.”
Chi Chi shook her head disapprovingly, setting coffee cups on the counter.
“Why would we do that?” she asked. Bulma gave a snort of amusement.
“Because it took the geniuses long enough to figure out what we all knew!” she grimaced then. “Of course, 18 killed us all in that pool...”
Again, Vegeta gave a grunt in response to his wife’s comment, but continued to eat.
“You should all be ashamed,” Chi Chi reprimanded. “No one can predict when and with whom they will fall in love...”
Bulma’s playful smirk slowly faded, and an awkward silence settled over them.
“Well,” the prince’s wife began, taking a large pinch of cake and popping it into her mouth, “I’m gonna check on the boys.”
Vegeta’s eyes followed her from the room. When she was gone, he turned back to his plate.
Chi Chi pulled the carafe from the coffee maker and crossed to the counter, filling the cup in front of the prince. With all of the Saiyan’s cool nonchalance, she was beginning to wonder if Goku had thought more of the incident than the royal elite -- that maybe, maybe, there was nothing to worry about.
There was really only one way to find out.
Chi Chi cleared her throat.
“Goku told me about last night.”
The muscles in Vegeta’s jaw clenched tightly, and his ebony eyes lifted to her.
Chi Chi felt her breath catch in her throat at the emotion that was momentarily visible in the dark depths of the Saiyan’s eyes. Not anger at her impertinence, but regret.
Vegeta sat back, folding his arms across his chest.
“And?” he asked, his eyes now back to showing nothing but steely indifference. “What did he say?”
Chi Chi folded her arms as well, resting her weight on one hip as she stared back.
“He said you two were out wrestling in the dead of night when you should have been at home sleeping. All of us needed to be up early this morning.”
Vegeta’s brows pinched together at her response. Could it be that the clown finally had one self-preserving instinct to not tell on himself?
“Well,” Vegeta responded coolly, “if you will notice, I was up on time.”
Chi Chi stared at him a moment, thoughtfully, taking a deep, even breath.
“I noticed...” she spoke calmly. “Perhaps the exchange was only exhausting on Goku’s part.”
The prince’s expression darkened, but he couldn’t for the life of him identify what in that remark should have offended him the way it did.
“Kakkarot is not an idle opponent,” Vegeta clarified. “In our match, he clearly had the upper hand.”
“Goku has never been one to hold back,” she replied. “Unfortunately... it is that irrational, whole hearted attitude that makes me wonder when it will finally catch up with him... and he really gets hurt.”
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. He had a feeling she was no longer talking about fighting.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” Vegeta spoke tightly. “I’m at a loss to understand where your mind has wandered.”
Chi Chi carefully considered all of the cooking implements within reach after the prince’s snide comment. However, combat was probably not the best way to resolve anything with the royal Saiyan. He had to know what she was talking about.
“Confused or not, he has feelings for you, Vegeta!” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. “It may mean nothing to you, but he has them nonetheless. For how long now I’ve really wondered, but after all that has occurred, all that you have been through together... all of this talk of Saiyan marriage --”
Vegeta’s fists hit the counter top, stopping her mid-sentence with a sound close to a gun shot.
“I am not trying to undermine your marriage, woman!” the prince raged. “I have done nothing inappropriate! I have solicited no such actions!”
“I’m not saying that you have!” she railed back. “I’m merely stating the reasons Goku could feel the way he does! I’m not placing blame! It’s no one’s fault, it’s just life!”
The two glared at each other.
Vegeta wasn’t even sure how to respond. The crazy, irrational woman! He was beginning to wonder why Goku hadn’t thrown his affections at someone else before now. He might have let himself be killed off several times, too, if he were married to the hen! She belonged on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, and he was certainly tempted to give her a return flight home.
Chi Chi couldn’t understand what about Vegeta’s reaction irritated her so thoroughly. The prince was just too damn smug and superior for his own good. He was damn lucky to have Goku for a friend, and he should feel honored that Goku had any feelings for him, regardless of what they were! The short, snarky twerp... she wanted to reach across the bar and pinch his pointy head clean off!
Before either had a chance to lay into the other again, Bulma appeared in the kitchen.
“Hey!” she hissed, giving her best ‘reprimanding mom’ look to the two. “Voices carry in a big house like this,” she warned. “If you think Goku can’t hear you two bitching at each other, you’re probably wrong.”
“That clown sleeps like a rock,” Vegeta snapped back. “A dead rock.”
“You don’t have to snap at her!” Chi Chi corrected the prince. “She is right, you know.”
Vegeta growled.
“You’re on my last nerve, woman.”
Bulma rolled her eyes.
“If this continues, I’m breaking out the mud pit, and we’ll settle this in a vastly more exciting way.”
Chi Chi and Vegeta both gave a look of disapproving disgust at her implied vulgarity.
“Well,” Bulma said with a nod, “at least we agree on something. Now I’m going back up to see to those babies, and I don’t want to hear another sound.”
Grudgingly, Vegeta resumed his seat at the bar. Chi Chi turned to the sink and began loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes.
Bulma gave the two a long look before leaving the room. It was a couple of minutes before they were speaking again.
“What are you going to do?” Chi Chi asked, not bothering to look up from her task.
“Nothing,” Vegeta replied. “There is nothing to do. Nothing happened.”
Chi Chi turned to him, opening her mouth to protest, but Vegeta repeated himself in a low growl.
“Nothing happened.”
“Good morning.”
Neither Chi Chi nor Vegeta looked to greet Daikkon when he entered the room. The young Saiyan didn’t appear phased by the lack of response and seated himself at the kitchen table. A kitchen bot darted obediently to his side.
“I can cook for you, if you like,” Chi Chi spoke as the metallic bot, too, asked if he would like a meal.
Daikkon smiled warmly at her.
“I thank you, my lady, but I wouldn’t dream of --”
“I’m making you waffles,” she informed him, her stern gaze never leaving the prince. “You’re getting waffles.”
Daikkon was immensely confused by the behavior and couldn’t venture a guess as to what had transpired between the two.
“That would be great,” he agreed lamely. “It reminds me of a Saiyan dish that --”
“Oh, shut up!” Vegeta snapped, snatching up his coffee mug and downing its contents.
Daikkon realized that although the king’s remark was directed at him, the tension in the room was between the older Saiyan and the earth princess. It certainly seemed to be an interesting exchange, as both hot tempered royals appeared intensely irritated with each other. An unusual development, as he had always observed the pair to have a mutual, although subtle respect for the other.
He just hoped the human’s distraction wouldn’t affect her ability to cook...
Vegeta and Chi Chi.
They were fighting. He wasn’t sure about what, for the shouting died as quickly as it began. A sickness swirled in his stomach at the thought of their once tranquil home becoming hostile. All because of him. Him and his lack of self control.
Goku leaned against the door frame, still exhausted after a full night’s sleep. Chi Chi must not have been able to stand to look at him that morning. That must be why she let him sleep in.
Footsteps on the stairs caused the tall Saiyan to duck out of sight inside of his room. He peered around the corner just in time to see Bulma disappear into the twins’ room.
Gathering his courage, Goku moved out into the hall to follow her. His friend was kneeling on the floor next to where his eldest twin son sat playing with a wire puzzle toy.
“Hey, Nin,” she cooed sweetly. “What are you doing?”
The young Saiyan grimaced and squinted at the puzzle in his hands, turning the pieces over with much scrutiny.
“...Fix...” he replied softly, “...fix...”
Bulma chuckled lightly, leaning over to kiss the child on the forehead.
“Where do you get that determination from, hm?” she asked. “So... do you need a new diaper?”
Ninji continued to twist the metal pieces, his brow creasing in concentration. He paused, putting the toy down and looking up at his step-mother.
“Yes.”
Bulma laughed, pulling the baby into her arms and hugging him tightly.
“You are a riot,” she told him. As she moved to stand, she caught sight of Goku who stood motionless in the doorway. “Hey,” she smiled at him. “Sleep well?”
Goku frowned. Could she not know?
“Not really,” he admitted, watching her carry his child to the changing table. “I can do that, Bulma... you don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind,” she answered. “So why didn’t you sleep well?”
Goku was speechless, watching her change Ninji’s diaper, as if nothing had happened.
“Bulma...” he began uncertainly. If she didn’t know, he couldn’t keep it that way. “I... I messed up --”
Bulma made a dismissive sound, scrunching her nose in irritation.
“Nonsense,” she told him, setting the toddler back onto the floor. Ninji immediately returned to his wire puzzle. Bulma placed her hands on her hips and looked up at her friend. “Vegeta told me. You’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” he repeated. “You are under reacting, Bulma!” He took her by the arm, pulling her close so she could hear him as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think I have feelings for Vegeta. Aren’t you angry?!”
Bulma stared up at him, her eyes wide as if the spoken words triggered something inside her. She pressed her lips together, her jaw trembling. Goku slowly released his grip, preparing himself for any retaliation.
Bulma made a muffled snorting sound before bursting with laughter.
Goku frowned.
Bulma wiped at her eyes, laying a hand on his arm as she caught her breath.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said. “I just got the mental picture of you trying to seduce my husband.”
“I wouldn’t!” Goku quickly insisted as laughter once again shook his friend.
“I know! That’s why it’s so funny!”
Goku’s frown deepened at her levity, and he sank down onto the nearest chair. Bulma’s smile softened, and she gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Look, Goku,” she began, “I’m not sure any of us knows what’s going on, but I’m one hundred percent certain that what you want from Vegeta is not what you think you want from Vegeta.”
Goku grimaced, heat rising to his face at having such a conversation with her.
After a moment, he asked quietly, “...what do you mean?”
Bulma crossed her arms over her chest.
“Do you want to cuddle with him under the stars?” she asked. “Do you want to whisper your hopes and dreams to him in the dark?” Goku shifted uncomfortably. “Do you want to hold his hands and gaze into his eyes when you make love?”
“No!” Goku exclaimed. “Bulma... the baby is listening.”
Bulma gave a quick glance to the toddler who was trying to put the puzzle back together now that he had solved its secret.
“No, he’s not. But do you see what I mean? You don’t want to be in romantic love with Vegeta,” she clarified. “But I do believe you love him. You want his approval, you want his attention... you want his affection... You want to be part of his life, Goku, but you don’t want to take him from me. I know that. He knows that.”
Goku sighed, embarrassed and ashamed of himself.
“It’s true that I don’t want... what you said,” he told her, looking up into her kind face. He couldn’t lie to her. Not to Bulma. “But I wanted something from him, Bulma. I don’t know what... but I did...” He spoke in a low whisper, but he couldn’t explain what he meant. He didn’t know how to explain that he was aroused by the prince. That his body had reacted the way that it had. “I did want...”
Bulma sighed too, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Stop beating yourself up about it,” she advised him. “You’ve been through enough without adding more on top of it yourself.”
Goku shook his head.
“Because I am wrong, Bulma,” he stressed. “I am a married man. So is Vegeta. He’s married to you -- how can you not be mad about this? About all of this?”
Bulma took Goku’s hand and pulled him out into the hall so the panic rising in his voice wouldn’t disturb the twins.
“Look,” she told him frankly, stopping in the hallway and turning on him, “if you were just some random slut off the street, then yes. Yes, Goku, I would be angry. But you’re not. I know you. I know what you are. And I know my husband. So Vegeta turns you on, big deal!” She gave a huff and ran a hand through her hair in agitation. “I’ll let you know know when you step out of line. Believe me.”
Goku frowned.
“How can you say that, Bulma? How can you be so... okay?”
She gave a smirk.
“Vegeta and I went through our phase of jealous insecurity many years ago. We know where we stand with each other.” She could tell by the look on his face that she wasn’t truly getting through to him. His guilt was too overwhelming. “Honey,” she took him by the arms and gave him a shake, “you didn’t do anything wrong. No one is mad at you. Gah, with as much as you are killing yourself over this, you should have at least gotten some action out of it! But two fully clothed men wrestling in a cave is not even a walk to first base, I don’t care how worked up you get! Vegeta and I did way more than that before we even liked each other.”
Goku couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s words. Maybe she was right. No one was mad at him. Maybe he was overreacting.
“Now, come on,” she told him. “We need to get those kids dressed and maybe we can have some nice family fun today, huh?” He nodded, taking a deep cleansing breath. “Just remember, Goku. I’ll be the judge of what is inappropriate.” She smirked. “I have more experience.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to run everything I do by you before I react,” he told her sheepishly.
“Oh honey, why don’t you tell me ahead of time before you do anything at all,” she suggested with a grin, following him back into the room. “I might need to take pictures.”
After Daikkon departed for the lab and Goku took Ninji to the living room to play, Chi Chi and Bulma set to clearing the table.
“The bots do enjoy doing this, I assure you,” Bulma told the younger woman as they carried the dishes into the kitchen.
“I don’t judge your need to fold laundry, you shouldn’t judge my need to tidy up,” Chi Chi told her with a smile. Bulma smiled in return, setting her handful of dishes on the side of the sink before taking a seat on the counter top. Chi Chi raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reprimand.
Bulma was quiet as she watched the younger woman work, looking for any subtle signs or indications that she was troubled. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the situation, as it was her idea to have them all live in the same house. But she had to remind herself that Vegeta and Goku would be in each other’s lives now forever, not that they didn’t already spend a large portion of their time together before the twins were born.
“Do you mind if I ask you how you’re doing?” Bulma finally spoke.
Chi Chi closed the dishwasher and started the cleaning cycle before she turned to answer.
“I’m well,” she replied. “Why would you think I’d mind if you asked?”
Bulma shrugged, giving a half-hearted smile.
“Just making sure... I mean, you and Vegeta did have quite a little argument this morning...”
Chi Chi quietly folded the kitchen rag that she had used to wipe down the counters.
“I suppose I was out of line where Vegeta was concerned,” she spoke plainly. Her voice became more confident and authoritative as she continued. “But that man has a serious ego problem. How you’ve spent so many years of your life with him... Well, I guess that is not for me to understand.”
Bulma smiled broadly.
“Oh, you do too, you can’t fool me. You and Vegeta get along fine.”
Chi Chi shook her head in disagreement, but didn’t comment. Sure, she and Vegeta had come to a mutual understanding of one another, but that was hardly understanding what Bulma saw in him. The inner-workings of the reclusive Saiyan prince were only for a very exclusive select few he must truly care for...
“I hope I am not interrupting,” Daikkon spoke, bowing to the two women as he entered the kitchen. Chi Chi turned back to the sink, using the just folded rag to scour the sides of the steel basin. Bulma gave a wave of her hand.
“Not at all, hon. We were just cleaning up the lunch dishes... well, Chi Chi was. I was observing for future reference... if all of my bots break... and my children aren’t at home.” She grinned. Daikkon returned the expression, giving a nod. “So what can we do for you?”
“I require nothing. I have come merely to give you this.” He handed Bulma a plastic binder that was filled with a hundred or so sheets of paper. “It is the first of my writings that King -- er, Prince Vegeta has approved to be shared with the family. It is a Saiyan language primer, of a sort. Just the basics of grammar and some common words.”
Bulma flipped through the binder, glancing over the language that was foreign to her eyes, but not to her ear. Vegeta spoke in Saiyan many times in the beginning of their relationship, and often used it when muttering to himself. Any time she expressed an interest in learning, however, he would make some sniping comment about it being a language that was ‘dead’.
“Cool,” Bulma commented. “I will commit it to memory. I’ll want to be in the know when those two adorable little rug-rats start conspiring together. Thank you, Daikkon.”
“It is my pleasure, my lady,” he replied. “I will leave you two alone now.” He bowed once more before turning from the kitchen. Bulma slid from the counter top and nudged the younger woman.
“I think the sink is clean now,” she teased. Chi Chi didn’t reply, laying the dish cloth neatly over the side of the sink. She turned to Bulma, looking down at the book in her hands.
“Bulma,” Chi Chi spoke slowly, and with a degree of uncertainty.
“Yeah?”
Chi Chi looked up at the prince’s wife, the older woman’s eyes full of their usual happy optimism. Chi Chi wanted to ask her how she could stay so strong. How she could keep it together. How she could handle all of the changes and still have the energy and desire to get out of bed in the morning!
Before any more words were spoken, Bulma reached out and gave Chi Chi’s arm a squeeze.
“Let’s go sit down and relax for a bit, hm?” she suggested.
Chi Chi nodded, taking a deep breath and following her into the next room.
“Where’s Vegeta?” Bulma asked, as she and Chi Chi entered the room.
“’Geta!” Vejita exclaimed, hanging from his mother’s neck and dropping to the floor. He rushed to the two women, holding his arms up expectantly.
“No, not ‘Geta’,” Bulma corrected, reaching down only to pat his head, much to the child’s dismay. “Papa. Where’s your papa?”
“I’m here,” the prince grumbled, returning from the den. “Woman, where is that damn book of crap that the second-class printed?”
Chi Chi cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows at the prince before looking toward the children. Vegeta grimaced.
“Fine,” he said, before his lips twisted into a wicked smirk. “Woman, where is that damn book of crap that Daikkon printed?”
Bulma moved between the two royals, pushing the primer out toward her husband. Chi Chi sighed and turned toward the sofa.
“It’s right here,” Bulma told him. “Daikkon said you already looked it over. I’d like to read it, since you certainly know what’s in it.”
Vegeta shook his head in irritation.
“Not that one,” he told her. “The other one.”
As the two spoke, Vejita began clinging to his father’s leg, twisting around to see where the older Saiyan’s tail had gone. The furry appendage tightened around the prince’s waist.
“It’s upstairs, I think,” Bulma told him.
“You think?” Vegeta returned, reaching down to extract his son. The tiny Saiyan wiggled out of reach, rolling onto the floor. Vegeta tried to ignore the little hands that were now tugging the side of his pant-leg, trying to reach his tail, as he talked with his wife.
“It’s not important right now,” Bulma told him. “I can get it later. I think you have more important things that would like your attention right now.”
Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the golden haired child who smiled happily back up at him.
“He didn’t want my attention a half hour ago when he was throwing rice around the table,” he muttered before quickly reaching down and pulling the child into his arms. Vejita squealed at having been caught, but laughed happily as Vegeta moved further into the living room and held the child in his lap as he sat down.
“Children live in the moment, Vegeta,” Chi Chi informed him. “And children prefer to remember the good.”
Vegeta gave a snort of disagreement, looking down at the child who cuddled at his side. His children would be smarter than that, he hoped. He knew he could remember nothing of his father but the bad. Of course, he didn’t think there was anything but bad where the King was concerned.
“Papa.”
The group turned to the soft-spoken Ninji, who had placed a hand on the page of the book so Goku could go no further.
“Read me?” the dark haired twin asked. Veji looked up at his father.
Vegeta gave a quick glance to Bulma and Chi Chi before addressing the child.
“Your... your mother is reading to you...” he said, slightly uncomfortable.
“I don’t mind --” Goku began to reply.
“Too,” Ninji continued. “Papa,” he held out one hand, his tiny fingers beckoning his father forward, “read too.”
“Pappa reeeeeeead toooo!!!” Vejita announced happily, leaping off his father’s lap and bounding toward his brother. He quickly crawled into Goku’s lap and turned his expectant eyes toward the prince. Bulma and Chi Chi, too, were now looking his way.
Vegeta’s eyes rolled skyward as he pulled himself from his chair, crossed the room and dropped beside the three other Saiyans. Ninji’s tail brushed against Vegeta’s, trying to coax it away from its rigid position around the prince’s waist. Vegeta’s jaw clenched at the outward display of affection, and he felt incredibly exposed.
“Read,” he instructed Goku, his voice nearly a hiss. Goku turned back to the book and hesitantly started to recite.
“Tiny Bear played hide-and-seek with Dog and Chicken in the yard...”
“Dog!” Vejita announced, pointing to the brightly colored picture.
“Good,” Goku praised, hugging the child closely. Chi Chi and Bulma watched the four Saiyans, observing the dynamic between them. Vejita enthusiastically pointed to the pictures, while Ninji just sat quietly, holding his father’s hand. Goku’s tail lazily thumped the floor between himself and the prince. Vegeta had for several minutes abandoned reading over the younger man’s shoulder in favor of staring at the hypnotically moving appendage.
Chi Chi stared at the two men and their sons. She felt somewhat numb as she watched the Saiyan family. Goku was such a good mother to those children; he was everything that she had doubted he could be from the day she found out that he was going to bear a child. And Vegeta... the prince sat patiently next to the boys and their mother, holding on to his son’s tiny hand and nodding every time the blonde twin turned to him for approval after he identified the pictures in the book. They were perfect together. The numbness began to disappear and was replaced with full-fledged sadness. Was there room for her in this quasi-Saiyan clan?
“So who’s this?” Goku asked the boys, pointing to the picture of a brown bear in an apron with a bow on its head.
“Mama,” Veji replied assuredly.
“Mama!” Goku exclaimed, pulling the child close and tickling him until he giggled happily. “Whose mama?”
“Bear mama!” Vejita squealed. Ninji smiled as he watched the two, but leaned toward Vegeta as he feared being tickled as well. Goku smiled at the dark-haired twin.
“Who is this?” he asked, pointing to his own chest. Ninji’s smile got wider, but still her pulled his arms across his belly and leaned away.
“My mama,” he answered. Goku laughed, leaning to kiss the child’s forehead.
“And who is this beside you, huh?” Goku asked, patting Vegeta’s arm. Both twins turned to their father, smiling.
“My papa,” Ninji answered with the same wide smile, his tail slipping around the prince’s wrist. Vegeta forced a smile in return.
Goku looked up to his wife, his eyes meeting hers. She smiled at him, hoping he couldn’t see the emotion in her eyes. He smiled back, holding Ninji close and pointing to her.
“And who is that?” he asked the child. Ninji stared at her a moment before turning to his mother.
“My Shishi.”
Bulma giggled at the child’s reply, and Chi Chi couldn’t help the genuine smile that tugged at her lips. Goku nodded as he met his wife’s eyes again.
“Yeah...” he agreed. “My Chi Chi...”
As Goku went back to reading from the story book, Chi Chi could feel Vegeta’s eyes on her. She turned to the prince, who was watching her with a neutral expression. He gave a short nod, and did not look away until she returned the gesture. Chi Chi wasn’t sure what the prince was trying to tell her -- perhaps, it was his way of telling her again that he was making no claims to the younger Saiyan -- but it took away a bit of her sadness.
Maybe there was more room in this family than she thought.
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...
To my wonderful, wonderful beta-reader, Rowina: Thank you. Where would I ever be without you?... up piss-poor grammar river, that's where... ^_^
Unlikely Bond
Chapter 75
Maybe
Chi Chi began to tremble -- not in grief but in rage -- feeling the heat of anger wash over her. Her jaw clenched tightly, keeping her from screaming as she stared into Goku’s large, watery eyes. The only things in arm’s reach to throw were pillows, so she refrained from snatching them up. She briefly felt regret at not being in the kitchen.Chapter 75
Maybe
Chi Chi couldn’t believe her ears, but her eyes could tell by the guilty look on her husband’s face that she had heard him all too clearly. Sadness and hurt battled to prevail over wrath as her current reigning emotion. Through clenched teeth, she finally spoke.
“What did you just say?” It was all that she could vocalize, even though she didn’t doubt what had been said.
Goku hung his head, ashamed as he answered.
“I think I was unfaithful --”
Before the words were completely out of his mouth, Chi Chi railed.
“Son Goku, how could you!? Have I not sacrificed enough? How can you just --” She stopped mid sentence to change her line of questioning. “What do you mean ‘you think’ you’ve been unfaithful?”
Goku didn’t look up at her. There was an ache in the pit of his stomach, and his feelings seemed to toss inside him like an untethered raft in a storm.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen...” he spoke softly. Chi Chi clenched her hands into the fabric of her nightgown, trying her best to resist reaching out to slap him in the head. “It just... happened....”
***
Vegeta opened his eyes. The look on the third class’s face was a fascinating mix of surprise, realization and fear. The heavy beating of Goku’s heart was almost audible in the quiet, dark cave, and he could feel it thudding heavily in his chest.
Vegeta could feel it too -- just in a vastly different place.
“Get up,” the prince spoke in a dry whisper. The command bordered on a plea.
Embarrassed, Goku scrambled to his feet, turning from the older Saiyan and running a hand down the front of his pants, trying desperately to adjust the fabric so his erection wasn’t quite so obvious. Hesitantly, he peered over his shoulder.
Vegeta was coolly dusting the sleeves of his shirt free from the debris on the cave floor. He stood proudly, shoulders square, facing away from Goku. Both men were quiet for a long, awkward moment.
Goku was confused. At his age, he was no stranger to the odd and sometimes inappropriate times his body reacted to a stimulus, but this wasn’t just a physical response. It wasn’t just the product of adrenalin and extra blood flow. For a moment, as he looked at the softly panting, handsome Saiyan royal, Goku felt... desire. He felt it in his body, and he felt it in his heart.
And now he felt guilt.
How, after everything that had happened, could he find himself having these kinds of feelings for Vegeta? How could he do this to Chi Chi? What was wrong with him?
For several moments, neither man spoke nor made any movement. Again, Goku looked over his shoulder, checking to see if Vegeta was still turned away. The older Saiyan was looking his way, arms crossed over his chest, the same odd expression of concerned contemplation of his face that he’d worn earlier.
“Good night, Kakkarot,” Vegeta spoke suddenly, turning from the cave. Goku watched him go, not attempting to speak or stop him.
The last person he needed to be alone with right now was the prince.
***
“That’s it?”
Goku looked up at his wife, surprised by her words.
“Isn’t it enough?” he asked miserably.
Chi Chi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before letting it out in a huff.
“So, what you are telling me is: you wrestled around with Vegeta, and you noticed that you had intimate feelings toward him?” she paraphrased. Goku squirmed uncomfortably where he now sat on the end of the bed. It was twice as bad to hear it so bluntly vocalized.
“I’m confused!” he replied. “And I know that is no excuse. I would never, ever want to hurt you, Chi Chi.”
The dark haired princess closed her eyes again, rubbing a hand across her tense forehead.
“I know, Goku,” she said weakly. “I know...”
Goku stood, wanting to reach out to his wife but afraid to make the attempt.
“Chi Chi --”
“I’m confused too, Goku,” she spoke before he could say anything further. She turned to look up at him, no trace of anger in her eyes, but oddly enough she wore the same expression the prince had -- thoughtful and concerned. Chi Chi sat down on the bed. “Very confused,” she continued. Goku sat down gently at her side.
“Do you hate me?” he asked quietly.
“For what?” she asked, turning to him. “For having a feeling? You can’t help that... You’ve done nothing wrong.” She shook her head, closing her hands in her lap. “You’ve done a lot of dumb and inconsiderate things in our married life, Son Goku, but I know you could never cheat.”
She wasn’t even sure it would be cheating with Vegeta, anyway. Vegeta was the father of his children. He should have feelings for him....
“Don’t work yourself up over it,” she reprimanded him, rising from the bed. “Get some sleep, and we’ll talk more on this in the morning.” Goku stood as she did.
“But --”
“No ‘buts’,” she said firmly. “We have to be up early to see Dr. and Mrs. Briefs off, and we promised Bulla that we would be there to say goodbye. It's hard enough to wake you when you've had a full night's sleep.”
Obediently, but with a heavy heart, Goku slipped out of his coat, boots and his pajamas that were still covered in dust. Slowly, he crawled into bed beside his wife. He was confused by her reaction, even more so than by his own. Why wasn’t she angry? Shouldn’t she be furious?
He just didn’t want her to be sad. Like she had said, he’d done a lot of dumb and inconsiderate things in their marriage; he wanted to be done making her sad.
Chi Chi tried not to loudly release the breath she’d been holding, lest it sound like a sigh. She didn’t want to appear upset when truthfully, she wasn’t sure how she felt. He hadn’t cheated. He felt attraction for Vegeta, but he hadn’t acted on it, and he had been immediately remorseful and honest about it. She wasn’t sure there was anything to fault him for in that.
Many years ago, she would have determined that an attraction was just as heinous as an act. But now... this situation wasn’t simply black and white to her.
Chi Chi could tell that Goku was still awake, but she had nothing to say. She was just as confused and troubled as he.
Why was she no longer angry?
She loved the man at her side with all of her heart and soul and mind. She couldn’t imagine him with anyone else but her.
And he wasn’t, she told herself. He was at her side, and Vegeta was with his wife, she was sure. And tomorrow they would wake up and be two separate families....
Chi Chi slung an arm across her eyes, trying to concentrate on sleep. She was making a mountain out of a molehill. Everything would be clearer in the morning. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what the odds were that she would get to hear Vegeta’s side of the story.
~~~~~~~~~~
When the alarm clock sounded at five a.m., Bulma groaned and rolled over to hit the snooze button. It was normal for her to find herself alone at this time of the morning as Vegeta was often up before the sun to train.This morning, however, he was sitting in a chair across from the bed, staring at her. Not normal.
Bulma frowned.
“Good morning,” she greeted, slowly sitting up and combing her fingers through her wild hair. “What are you doing?”
“I promised the girl that I would be up when she left,” he replied. Bulma reached over and turned off her alarm clock. She had the feeling that she wouldn’t be getting an extra ten minutes of sleep this morning.
“Okay...” she began again. “So... why are you wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday?”
Vegeta glanced down at his attire, his mouth twitching in irritation. Bulma could see that he had overlooked that fact.
“What happened?” she asked, pulling her knees up and resting her arms across them.
“Nothing,” he replied, and continued hesitantly, “but I feel I should tell you anyway. It is something that you might want to know.”
Bulma raised an eyebrow.
“Then by all means,” she spoke, “let’s hear it.”
Vegeta’s posture didn’t change. He sat straight in his chair, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I had... what one might consider... an inappropriate contact with.... Kakkarot.”
“What?!” Bulma’s voice was louder than she thought it would sound when she exclaimed. The very idea was simply ridiculous to her. “Inappropriate how?”
Vegeta considered the question. He wasn’t really sure. They had been wrestling, not making out. What happened had not been intentional on either’s part.
“While sparring...” he began, “we arrived, somehow, in a rather... compromising position.”
Bulma’s mouth dropped open.
“What?”
Vegeta sighed.
“You heard me, woman.”
“Well, yeah, I heard you,” she replied, rising from the bed and moving to sit on the edge, across from his chair. “But I didn’t understand you. Did you... kiss or something?”
Vegeta wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“No,” he retorted hotly.
“Then I don’t know what you mean!” Bulma replied. “Or why you are telling me this! I mean, I want to know if you two are intentionally groping each other, but I don’t need to know if you accidentally touched someone’s balls.” Vegeta was staring back at her in irritation. Bulma crossed her arms. “I can tell by your demeanor that it was something in between...” she observed. Vegeta’s expression softened, and he finally looked away. Bulma felt her mouth go dry. “Wow,” she said softly. She had often joked about her husband and her best friend having encounters, but now that it was quite possibly a reality, she wasn’t sure how to feel. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her mind, only to realize that it was already empty. She was at a loss for thought. “Wow,” she repeated.
“It was nothing like that,” Vegeta grumbled uncomfortably. “We... simply ended up too close and too...” He searched for a word to complete his thought, but he couldn’t find anything appropriate in an earth tongue. He whispered something in Saiyan quietly to himself.
Bulma looked up at him.
“Do... do you have feelings for him?” she asked. “Have your feelings for him changed?”
Vegeta frowned at the vulnerable look on his wife’s beautiful face, her soft blue eyes gazing into his, searching.
“I...” the prince began. “I am unsure of what to tell you,” he spoke honestly. “My feelings from when? A year ago? Ten years ago? Yes, Bulma. They have.” Bulma bit her lip, watching him as he continued speaking, idly twisting the platinum band on her finger. “It is pointless to try and speak in any way but plainly to you, woman. You know my heart better than I do. I have come to admire the buffoon. I am indebted to him for his courage, for his selflessness and his mercy. But in this instance, in the situation in which we found ourselves this evening... it is not my feelings for Kakkarot that concern me,” Vegeta took a deep breath as he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, “but his feelings for me.”
Bulma’s eyebrows rose and her mouth opened.
“Oh...” she breathed.
The prince sighed.
Bulma was quiet as she considered his words. So Goku was attracted to Vegeta. She couldn’t fault him in that -- Vegeta was a stone-cold sexy man in her opinion. She felt sorry for her friend. She knew that he would never in a million years wish to do anything inappropriate.
“It will be okay,” Bulma decided, patting the prince on the thigh. “I’m sure that it’s just a phase.” She stood up, taking her husband’s hand. “Come on. We’re running short on time so we’ll have to share the shower. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the dust in your hair?”
Vegeta followed behind the woman, scowling at her comment.
Even though he had spent the entire night contemplating and replaying in his mind the incident of that evening, he couldn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense, phase or not, for Kakkarot to be feeling anything but friendship for him. Certainly not physical attraction. Vegeta cringed when he remembered the experience they shared while held captive; it was nothing to want repeated. So how could Kakkarot feel the way he did, even for a fraction of time? Yes, he and Kakkarot were parents together, but they were not mates! Kakkarot should require nothing of him but to be a good father to their young.
“Bulma,” Vegeta spoke quietly, stopping her. He averted his eyes from hers as he usually did when embarrassed by a show of emotion. “I would not like Kakkarot to feel any humiliation in this... if we could please keep this between us?”
“Who would I tell!?” Bulma responded. Vegeta raised a brow. “I wouldn’t tell Yamucha this!” she defended. “This is... wow... something that I would have never seen coming.”
“You’re not the only one,” he replied dryly.
Bulma reached out and gently touched her husband’s face.
“I’m serious,” she said. “Everything will be fine.”
Vegeta nodded. She was right, he knew it. Everything had to be fine. He and Kakkarot were parents together.
They had no other choice.
~~~~~~~~~~
“So, we’ll be back in four days,” Trunks told his mother and Chi Chi as he handed his bags to Goten. “We’re staying in a cabin, not in the actual lodge, but I’ll have my phone on me if you need to get in touch.”“I wished you’d have planned this sooner,” Bulma told him with mock disappointment. “We could have made it a whole family trip.”
Trunks sighed.
“Yeah... bummer.”
Bulma laughed, giving her son a big hug.
“You two have a great time,” she told him.
“We will,” he assured her. “The lodge said the snow up there is perfect, and they’ve just put in a new snowboarding course. There are events planned for every day.”
“Well, don’t get hurt,” she spoke, knowing full well that it was near impossible.
“I won’t. Goodbye Aunt Chi Chi, Dad.”
Vegeta nodded from his seat on the sofa, but offered nothing further.
“Are we all set?” Goten asked, clapping his hands once together and giving his friend a grin. “The slopes are waiting.”
“They aren’t going anywhere,” Trunks replied.
“You never know. Global warming and all that...Bye, Mom.” He hugged Chi Chi tightly. “Bye Aunt B, Vegeta. Tell Dad we’ll bring him back a souvenir.”
“We will,” Chi Chi agreed. The two women watched their sons settle into the hover car and give a final wave before taking to the sky.
As soon as the young men were out of sight, a weight seemed to descend and the mood in the room became noticeably somber. After the departure of Bulla and her grandparents, and now Trunks and Goten, the large house felt eerily deserted even with the seven occupants who remained.
Chi Chi had decided earlier that morning to let Goku sleep and had given everyone well wishes for him. She was uncertain of how the day would develop, and a part of her wanted to protect him from anything unpleasant for as long as possible. Now it was just she who shared the awkward silence with Vegeta and Bulma.
“Well,” she spoke, “I’ll put on another pot of coffee.” She was well aware of the less than subtle look of concern that Bulma gave her spouse. Obviously, Vegeta had a confession of his own last night. She couldn’t imagine what his version of events might have been.
Quietly, Vegeta and Bulma followed Chi Chi into the kitchen. Vegeta seated himself at the bar and Bulma leaned against the counter, both watching the younger woman prepare the coffee.
“The boys decided on this trip rather suddenly,” Chi Chi commented casually, cutting a large slice of the spiced apple coffee cake she had made that morning. She placed the plate in front of the prince.
“They probably just wanted some alone time,” Bulma suggested. “To be by themselves and be romantic.”
Chi Chi gave a smile as she placed a plate in front of Bulma. As preoccupied as she was over Goku, the reality of her son’s relationship with a boy as sweet and accomplished as Trunks was a joy.
Vegeta gave a grunt in response to his wife’s comment, but continued to eat.
“And...” Bulma continued with a mischievous grin, “they probably want a chance to be lovey-dovey without us teasing and mocking.”
Chi Chi shook her head disapprovingly, setting coffee cups on the counter.
“Why would we do that?” she asked. Bulma gave a snort of amusement.
“Because it took the geniuses long enough to figure out what we all knew!” she grimaced then. “Of course, 18 killed us all in that pool...”
Again, Vegeta gave a grunt in response to his wife’s comment, but continued to eat.
“You should all be ashamed,” Chi Chi reprimanded. “No one can predict when and with whom they will fall in love...”
Bulma’s playful smirk slowly faded, and an awkward silence settled over them.
“Well,” the prince’s wife began, taking a large pinch of cake and popping it into her mouth, “I’m gonna check on the boys.”
Vegeta’s eyes followed her from the room. When she was gone, he turned back to his plate.
Chi Chi pulled the carafe from the coffee maker and crossed to the counter, filling the cup in front of the prince. With all of the Saiyan’s cool nonchalance, she was beginning to wonder if Goku had thought more of the incident than the royal elite -- that maybe, maybe, there was nothing to worry about.
There was really only one way to find out.
Chi Chi cleared her throat.
“Goku told me about last night.”
The muscles in Vegeta’s jaw clenched tightly, and his ebony eyes lifted to her.
Chi Chi felt her breath catch in her throat at the emotion that was momentarily visible in the dark depths of the Saiyan’s eyes. Not anger at her impertinence, but regret.
Vegeta sat back, folding his arms across his chest.
“And?” he asked, his eyes now back to showing nothing but steely indifference. “What did he say?”
Chi Chi folded her arms as well, resting her weight on one hip as she stared back.
“He said you two were out wrestling in the dead of night when you should have been at home sleeping. All of us needed to be up early this morning.”
Vegeta’s brows pinched together at her response. Could it be that the clown finally had one self-preserving instinct to not tell on himself?
“Well,” Vegeta responded coolly, “if you will notice, I was up on time.”
Chi Chi stared at him a moment, thoughtfully, taking a deep, even breath.
“I noticed...” she spoke calmly. “Perhaps the exchange was only exhausting on Goku’s part.”
The prince’s expression darkened, but he couldn’t for the life of him identify what in that remark should have offended him the way it did.
“Kakkarot is not an idle opponent,” Vegeta clarified. “In our match, he clearly had the upper hand.”
“Goku has never been one to hold back,” she replied. “Unfortunately... it is that irrational, whole hearted attitude that makes me wonder when it will finally catch up with him... and he really gets hurt.”
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. He had a feeling she was no longer talking about fighting.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” Vegeta spoke tightly. “I’m at a loss to understand where your mind has wandered.”
Chi Chi carefully considered all of the cooking implements within reach after the prince’s snide comment. However, combat was probably not the best way to resolve anything with the royal Saiyan. He had to know what she was talking about.
“Confused or not, he has feelings for you, Vegeta!” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. “It may mean nothing to you, but he has them nonetheless. For how long now I’ve really wondered, but after all that has occurred, all that you have been through together... all of this talk of Saiyan marriage --”
Vegeta’s fists hit the counter top, stopping her mid-sentence with a sound close to a gun shot.
“I am not trying to undermine your marriage, woman!” the prince raged. “I have done nothing inappropriate! I have solicited no such actions!”
“I’m not saying that you have!” she railed back. “I’m merely stating the reasons Goku could feel the way he does! I’m not placing blame! It’s no one’s fault, it’s just life!”
The two glared at each other.
Vegeta wasn’t even sure how to respond. The crazy, irrational woman! He was beginning to wonder why Goku hadn’t thrown his affections at someone else before now. He might have let himself be killed off several times, too, if he were married to the hen! She belonged on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, and he was certainly tempted to give her a return flight home.
Chi Chi couldn’t understand what about Vegeta’s reaction irritated her so thoroughly. The prince was just too damn smug and superior for his own good. He was damn lucky to have Goku for a friend, and he should feel honored that Goku had any feelings for him, regardless of what they were! The short, snarky twerp... she wanted to reach across the bar and pinch his pointy head clean off!
Before either had a chance to lay into the other again, Bulma appeared in the kitchen.
“Hey!” she hissed, giving her best ‘reprimanding mom’ look to the two. “Voices carry in a big house like this,” she warned. “If you think Goku can’t hear you two bitching at each other, you’re probably wrong.”
“That clown sleeps like a rock,” Vegeta snapped back. “A dead rock.”
“You don’t have to snap at her!” Chi Chi corrected the prince. “She is right, you know.”
Vegeta growled.
“You’re on my last nerve, woman.”
Bulma rolled her eyes.
“If this continues, I’m breaking out the mud pit, and we’ll settle this in a vastly more exciting way.”
Chi Chi and Vegeta both gave a look of disapproving disgust at her implied vulgarity.
“Well,” Bulma said with a nod, “at least we agree on something. Now I’m going back up to see to those babies, and I don’t want to hear another sound.”
Grudgingly, Vegeta resumed his seat at the bar. Chi Chi turned to the sink and began loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes.
Bulma gave the two a long look before leaving the room. It was a couple of minutes before they were speaking again.
“What are you going to do?” Chi Chi asked, not bothering to look up from her task.
“Nothing,” Vegeta replied. “There is nothing to do. Nothing happened.”
Chi Chi turned to him, opening her mouth to protest, but Vegeta repeated himself in a low growl.
“Nothing happened.”
“Good morning.”
Neither Chi Chi nor Vegeta looked to greet Daikkon when he entered the room. The young Saiyan didn’t appear phased by the lack of response and seated himself at the kitchen table. A kitchen bot darted obediently to his side.
“I can cook for you, if you like,” Chi Chi spoke as the metallic bot, too, asked if he would like a meal.
Daikkon smiled warmly at her.
“I thank you, my lady, but I wouldn’t dream of --”
“I’m making you waffles,” she informed him, her stern gaze never leaving the prince. “You’re getting waffles.”
Daikkon was immensely confused by the behavior and couldn’t venture a guess as to what had transpired between the two.
“That would be great,” he agreed lamely. “It reminds me of a Saiyan dish that --”
“Oh, shut up!” Vegeta snapped, snatching up his coffee mug and downing its contents.
Daikkon realized that although the king’s remark was directed at him, the tension in the room was between the older Saiyan and the earth princess. It certainly seemed to be an interesting exchange, as both hot tempered royals appeared intensely irritated with each other. An unusual development, as he had always observed the pair to have a mutual, although subtle respect for the other.
He just hoped the human’s distraction wouldn’t affect her ability to cook...
~~~~~~~~~~
Goku could hear the raised voices downstairs.Vegeta and Chi Chi.
They were fighting. He wasn’t sure about what, for the shouting died as quickly as it began. A sickness swirled in his stomach at the thought of their once tranquil home becoming hostile. All because of him. Him and his lack of self control.
Goku leaned against the door frame, still exhausted after a full night’s sleep. Chi Chi must not have been able to stand to look at him that morning. That must be why she let him sleep in.
Footsteps on the stairs caused the tall Saiyan to duck out of sight inside of his room. He peered around the corner just in time to see Bulma disappear into the twins’ room.
Gathering his courage, Goku moved out into the hall to follow her. His friend was kneeling on the floor next to where his eldest twin son sat playing with a wire puzzle toy.
“Hey, Nin,” she cooed sweetly. “What are you doing?”
The young Saiyan grimaced and squinted at the puzzle in his hands, turning the pieces over with much scrutiny.
“...Fix...” he replied softly, “...fix...”
Bulma chuckled lightly, leaning over to kiss the child on the forehead.
“Where do you get that determination from, hm?” she asked. “So... do you need a new diaper?”
Ninji continued to twist the metal pieces, his brow creasing in concentration. He paused, putting the toy down and looking up at his step-mother.
“Yes.”
Bulma laughed, pulling the baby into her arms and hugging him tightly.
“You are a riot,” she told him. As she moved to stand, she caught sight of Goku who stood motionless in the doorway. “Hey,” she smiled at him. “Sleep well?”
Goku frowned. Could she not know?
“Not really,” he admitted, watching her carry his child to the changing table. “I can do that, Bulma... you don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind,” she answered. “So why didn’t you sleep well?”
Goku was speechless, watching her change Ninji’s diaper, as if nothing had happened.
“Bulma...” he began uncertainly. If she didn’t know, he couldn’t keep it that way. “I... I messed up --”
Bulma made a dismissive sound, scrunching her nose in irritation.
“Nonsense,” she told him, setting the toddler back onto the floor. Ninji immediately returned to his wire puzzle. Bulma placed her hands on her hips and looked up at her friend. “Vegeta told me. You’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” he repeated. “You are under reacting, Bulma!” He took her by the arm, pulling her close so she could hear him as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think I have feelings for Vegeta. Aren’t you angry?!”
Bulma stared up at him, her eyes wide as if the spoken words triggered something inside her. She pressed her lips together, her jaw trembling. Goku slowly released his grip, preparing himself for any retaliation.
Bulma made a muffled snorting sound before bursting with laughter.
Goku frowned.
Bulma wiped at her eyes, laying a hand on his arm as she caught her breath.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said. “I just got the mental picture of you trying to seduce my husband.”
“I wouldn’t!” Goku quickly insisted as laughter once again shook his friend.
“I know! That’s why it’s so funny!”
Goku’s frown deepened at her levity, and he sank down onto the nearest chair. Bulma’s smile softened, and she gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Look, Goku,” she began, “I’m not sure any of us knows what’s going on, but I’m one hundred percent certain that what you want from Vegeta is not what you think you want from Vegeta.”
Goku grimaced, heat rising to his face at having such a conversation with her.
After a moment, he asked quietly, “...what do you mean?”
Bulma crossed her arms over her chest.
“Do you want to cuddle with him under the stars?” she asked. “Do you want to whisper your hopes and dreams to him in the dark?” Goku shifted uncomfortably. “Do you want to hold his hands and gaze into his eyes when you make love?”
“No!” Goku exclaimed. “Bulma... the baby is listening.”
Bulma gave a quick glance to the toddler who was trying to put the puzzle back together now that he had solved its secret.
“No, he’s not. But do you see what I mean? You don’t want to be in romantic love with Vegeta,” she clarified. “But I do believe you love him. You want his approval, you want his attention... you want his affection... You want to be part of his life, Goku, but you don’t want to take him from me. I know that. He knows that.”
Goku sighed, embarrassed and ashamed of himself.
“It’s true that I don’t want... what you said,” he told her, looking up into her kind face. He couldn’t lie to her. Not to Bulma. “But I wanted something from him, Bulma. I don’t know what... but I did...” He spoke in a low whisper, but he couldn’t explain what he meant. He didn’t know how to explain that he was aroused by the prince. That his body had reacted the way that it had. “I did want...”
Bulma sighed too, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Stop beating yourself up about it,” she advised him. “You’ve been through enough without adding more on top of it yourself.”
Goku shook his head.
“Because I am wrong, Bulma,” he stressed. “I am a married man. So is Vegeta. He’s married to you -- how can you not be mad about this? About all of this?”
Bulma took Goku’s hand and pulled him out into the hall so the panic rising in his voice wouldn’t disturb the twins.
“Look,” she told him frankly, stopping in the hallway and turning on him, “if you were just some random slut off the street, then yes. Yes, Goku, I would be angry. But you’re not. I know you. I know what you are. And I know my husband. So Vegeta turns you on, big deal!” She gave a huff and ran a hand through her hair in agitation. “I’ll let you know know when you step out of line. Believe me.”
Goku frowned.
“How can you say that, Bulma? How can you be so... okay?”
She gave a smirk.
“Vegeta and I went through our phase of jealous insecurity many years ago. We know where we stand with each other.” She could tell by the look on his face that she wasn’t truly getting through to him. His guilt was too overwhelming. “Honey,” she took him by the arms and gave him a shake, “you didn’t do anything wrong. No one is mad at you. Gah, with as much as you are killing yourself over this, you should have at least gotten some action out of it! But two fully clothed men wrestling in a cave is not even a walk to first base, I don’t care how worked up you get! Vegeta and I did way more than that before we even liked each other.”
Goku couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s words. Maybe she was right. No one was mad at him. Maybe he was overreacting.
“Now, come on,” she told him. “We need to get those kids dressed and maybe we can have some nice family fun today, huh?” He nodded, taking a deep cleansing breath. “Just remember, Goku. I’ll be the judge of what is inappropriate.” She smirked. “I have more experience.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to run everything I do by you before I react,” he told her sheepishly.
“Oh honey, why don’t you tell me ahead of time before you do anything at all,” she suggested with a grin, following him back into the room. “I might need to take pictures.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The members of the Capsule Corp household managed to avoid each other until lunch time. They were saved from any serious conversation by Vejita, who monopolized the time arguing with his father over what he would and wouldn’t eat. The meal concluded in the prince carrying a crying toddler out of the dining room to give them both some time to cool off.After Daikkon departed for the lab and Goku took Ninji to the living room to play, Chi Chi and Bulma set to clearing the table.
“The bots do enjoy doing this, I assure you,” Bulma told the younger woman as they carried the dishes into the kitchen.
“I don’t judge your need to fold laundry, you shouldn’t judge my need to tidy up,” Chi Chi told her with a smile. Bulma smiled in return, setting her handful of dishes on the side of the sink before taking a seat on the counter top. Chi Chi raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reprimand.
Bulma was quiet as she watched the younger woman work, looking for any subtle signs or indications that she was troubled. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the situation, as it was her idea to have them all live in the same house. But she had to remind herself that Vegeta and Goku would be in each other’s lives now forever, not that they didn’t already spend a large portion of their time together before the twins were born.
“Do you mind if I ask you how you’re doing?” Bulma finally spoke.
Chi Chi closed the dishwasher and started the cleaning cycle before she turned to answer.
“I’m well,” she replied. “Why would you think I’d mind if you asked?”
Bulma shrugged, giving a half-hearted smile.
“Just making sure... I mean, you and Vegeta did have quite a little argument this morning...”
Chi Chi quietly folded the kitchen rag that she had used to wipe down the counters.
“I suppose I was out of line where Vegeta was concerned,” she spoke plainly. Her voice became more confident and authoritative as she continued. “But that man has a serious ego problem. How you’ve spent so many years of your life with him... Well, I guess that is not for me to understand.”
Bulma smiled broadly.
“Oh, you do too, you can’t fool me. You and Vegeta get along fine.”
Chi Chi shook her head in disagreement, but didn’t comment. Sure, she and Vegeta had come to a mutual understanding of one another, but that was hardly understanding what Bulma saw in him. The inner-workings of the reclusive Saiyan prince were only for a very exclusive select few he must truly care for...
“I hope I am not interrupting,” Daikkon spoke, bowing to the two women as he entered the kitchen. Chi Chi turned back to the sink, using the just folded rag to scour the sides of the steel basin. Bulma gave a wave of her hand.
“Not at all, hon. We were just cleaning up the lunch dishes... well, Chi Chi was. I was observing for future reference... if all of my bots break... and my children aren’t at home.” She grinned. Daikkon returned the expression, giving a nod. “So what can we do for you?”
“I require nothing. I have come merely to give you this.” He handed Bulma a plastic binder that was filled with a hundred or so sheets of paper. “It is the first of my writings that King -- er, Prince Vegeta has approved to be shared with the family. It is a Saiyan language primer, of a sort. Just the basics of grammar and some common words.”
Bulma flipped through the binder, glancing over the language that was foreign to her eyes, but not to her ear. Vegeta spoke in Saiyan many times in the beginning of their relationship, and often used it when muttering to himself. Any time she expressed an interest in learning, however, he would make some sniping comment about it being a language that was ‘dead’.
“Cool,” Bulma commented. “I will commit it to memory. I’ll want to be in the know when those two adorable little rug-rats start conspiring together. Thank you, Daikkon.”
“It is my pleasure, my lady,” he replied. “I will leave you two alone now.” He bowed once more before turning from the kitchen. Bulma slid from the counter top and nudged the younger woman.
“I think the sink is clean now,” she teased. Chi Chi didn’t reply, laying the dish cloth neatly over the side of the sink. She turned to Bulma, looking down at the book in her hands.
“Bulma,” Chi Chi spoke slowly, and with a degree of uncertainty.
“Yeah?”
Chi Chi looked up at the prince’s wife, the older woman’s eyes full of their usual happy optimism. Chi Chi wanted to ask her how she could stay so strong. How she could keep it together. How she could handle all of the changes and still have the energy and desire to get out of bed in the morning!
Before any more words were spoken, Bulma reached out and gave Chi Chi’s arm a squeeze.
“Let’s go sit down and relax for a bit, hm?” she suggested.
Chi Chi nodded, taking a deep breath and following her into the next room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Goku sat on the living room floor with the twins, Ninji sitting quietly in his lap as he read from a story book and Veji climbing around them as if Goku were a living jungle gym.“Where’s Vegeta?” Bulma asked, as she and Chi Chi entered the room.
“’Geta!” Vejita exclaimed, hanging from his mother’s neck and dropping to the floor. He rushed to the two women, holding his arms up expectantly.
“No, not ‘Geta’,” Bulma corrected, reaching down only to pat his head, much to the child’s dismay. “Papa. Where’s your papa?”
“I’m here,” the prince grumbled, returning from the den. “Woman, where is that damn book of crap that the second-class printed?”
Chi Chi cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows at the prince before looking toward the children. Vegeta grimaced.
“Fine,” he said, before his lips twisted into a wicked smirk. “Woman, where is that damn book of crap that Daikkon printed?”
Bulma moved between the two royals, pushing the primer out toward her husband. Chi Chi sighed and turned toward the sofa.
“It’s right here,” Bulma told him. “Daikkon said you already looked it over. I’d like to read it, since you certainly know what’s in it.”
Vegeta shook his head in irritation.
“Not that one,” he told her. “The other one.”
As the two spoke, Vejita began clinging to his father’s leg, twisting around to see where the older Saiyan’s tail had gone. The furry appendage tightened around the prince’s waist.
“It’s upstairs, I think,” Bulma told him.
“You think?” Vegeta returned, reaching down to extract his son. The tiny Saiyan wiggled out of reach, rolling onto the floor. Vegeta tried to ignore the little hands that were now tugging the side of his pant-leg, trying to reach his tail, as he talked with his wife.
“It’s not important right now,” Bulma told him. “I can get it later. I think you have more important things that would like your attention right now.”
Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the golden haired child who smiled happily back up at him.
“He didn’t want my attention a half hour ago when he was throwing rice around the table,” he muttered before quickly reaching down and pulling the child into his arms. Vejita squealed at having been caught, but laughed happily as Vegeta moved further into the living room and held the child in his lap as he sat down.
“Children live in the moment, Vegeta,” Chi Chi informed him. “And children prefer to remember the good.”
Vegeta gave a snort of disagreement, looking down at the child who cuddled at his side. His children would be smarter than that, he hoped. He knew he could remember nothing of his father but the bad. Of course, he didn’t think there was anything but bad where the King was concerned.
“Papa.”
The group turned to the soft-spoken Ninji, who had placed a hand on the page of the book so Goku could go no further.
“Read me?” the dark haired twin asked. Veji looked up at his father.
Vegeta gave a quick glance to Bulma and Chi Chi before addressing the child.
“Your... your mother is reading to you...” he said, slightly uncomfortable.
“I don’t mind --” Goku began to reply.
“Too,” Ninji continued. “Papa,” he held out one hand, his tiny fingers beckoning his father forward, “read too.”
“Pappa reeeeeeead toooo!!!” Vejita announced happily, leaping off his father’s lap and bounding toward his brother. He quickly crawled into Goku’s lap and turned his expectant eyes toward the prince. Bulma and Chi Chi, too, were now looking his way.
Vegeta’s eyes rolled skyward as he pulled himself from his chair, crossed the room and dropped beside the three other Saiyans. Ninji’s tail brushed against Vegeta’s, trying to coax it away from its rigid position around the prince’s waist. Vegeta’s jaw clenched at the outward display of affection, and he felt incredibly exposed.
“Read,” he instructed Goku, his voice nearly a hiss. Goku turned back to the book and hesitantly started to recite.
“Tiny Bear played hide-and-seek with Dog and Chicken in the yard...”
“Dog!” Vejita announced, pointing to the brightly colored picture.
“Good,” Goku praised, hugging the child closely. Chi Chi and Bulma watched the four Saiyans, observing the dynamic between them. Vejita enthusiastically pointed to the pictures, while Ninji just sat quietly, holding his father’s hand. Goku’s tail lazily thumped the floor between himself and the prince. Vegeta had for several minutes abandoned reading over the younger man’s shoulder in favor of staring at the hypnotically moving appendage.
Chi Chi stared at the two men and their sons. She felt somewhat numb as she watched the Saiyan family. Goku was such a good mother to those children; he was everything that she had doubted he could be from the day she found out that he was going to bear a child. And Vegeta... the prince sat patiently next to the boys and their mother, holding on to his son’s tiny hand and nodding every time the blonde twin turned to him for approval after he identified the pictures in the book. They were perfect together. The numbness began to disappear and was replaced with full-fledged sadness. Was there room for her in this quasi-Saiyan clan?
“So who’s this?” Goku asked the boys, pointing to the picture of a brown bear in an apron with a bow on its head.
“Mama,” Veji replied assuredly.
“Mama!” Goku exclaimed, pulling the child close and tickling him until he giggled happily. “Whose mama?”
“Bear mama!” Vejita squealed. Ninji smiled as he watched the two, but leaned toward Vegeta as he feared being tickled as well. Goku smiled at the dark-haired twin.
“Who is this?” he asked, pointing to his own chest. Ninji’s smile got wider, but still her pulled his arms across his belly and leaned away.
“My mama,” he answered. Goku laughed, leaning to kiss the child’s forehead.
“And who is this beside you, huh?” Goku asked, patting Vegeta’s arm. Both twins turned to their father, smiling.
“My papa,” Ninji answered with the same wide smile, his tail slipping around the prince’s wrist. Vegeta forced a smile in return.
Goku looked up to his wife, his eyes meeting hers. She smiled at him, hoping he couldn’t see the emotion in her eyes. He smiled back, holding Ninji close and pointing to her.
“And who is that?” he asked the child. Ninji stared at her a moment before turning to his mother.
“My Shishi.”
Bulma giggled at the child’s reply, and Chi Chi couldn’t help the genuine smile that tugged at her lips. Goku nodded as he met his wife’s eyes again.
“Yeah...” he agreed. “My Chi Chi...”
As Goku went back to reading from the story book, Chi Chi could feel Vegeta’s eyes on her. She turned to the prince, who was watching her with a neutral expression. He gave a short nod, and did not look away until she returned the gesture. Chi Chi wasn’t sure what the prince was trying to tell her -- perhaps, it was his way of telling her again that he was making no claims to the younger Saiyan -- but it took away a bit of her sadness.
Maybe there was more room in this family than she thought.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bulla peered into her grandparent’s sunroom, raising a critical brow as she observed both of her mother’s parents napping in their chairs. The young girl gave a shake of her head, retreating back into the house and to the guest room where she was staying. She closed the door, crossing to her suitcase and rummaging beneath the clothes. Finding what she sought, the princess pulled out the large plastic binder and carried it to her bed. She arranged the pillows in a comfortable configuration, leaned back and propped the binder on her lap, opening the cover. The first page was blank, save the title centered on the page:The Saiyan Clan
More than interested and quite intrigued, she turned the page.~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I hope you all aren’t too disappointed! There is much more to come, so hopefully there is more excitement coming. *wink* Anyway, I’m glad I could post today because according to MediaMiner, this is the 3-year anniversary of Unlikely Bond. I am so very grateful to everyone who has read and is still reading this story! And I have a special ‘Thanks!’ to my beta, who has to put up with the worst verb-tense disability on the planet. LOL. Anyway, although I hope that this doesn’t take another year to finish, I’m enjoying sharing this story. Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy! ~B