This is How Our Story Ends

by Chrizzii

Notes:

Another B and V short.

I have been sitting on this for over a week, unsure of whether to share it or not. I really don't know how anyone will react to it! (As a writer, that makes me uneasy.)

There are events and themes in this piece which some readers may find distressing, please be aware of the rating.

Leave a comment if you like, feedback is appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Goku pushed off the ground and ghosted right before crashing into Vegeta's left side. The Prince shrugged the attack off and landed a punch to the younger saiyan's gut before having a head blow blocked by his rival. Both men smiled at each other and flew to the floor to restart their match.

"Grandpa!"

The fighters turned to see the little five year old girl running towards them, followed by her parents, Trunks and Mira.

Vegeta smiled and grabbed the girl roughly from the floor, throwing her up and catching her as she squealed with delight.

"Hi, Dad," Trunks greeted, a tired expression on his face, "hey, Goku."

"Hi, guys- how are you? Just here for a visit?" Goku asked, powering down and running over to the pair.

Mira threw her long black hair over her shoulder and set her smouldering blue eyes on Goku.

"It's the day we get the results of Bulma's tests," she reminded, a little abruptly.

Vegeta rested his granddaughter on his hip and looked down at her, his mind suddenly clouded with anxiety.

Bulma had grown older as the years had gone by in a way that Vegeta had not. It was as if time had stood still for him as it affected her.

The lines on her face told the story of every time she had laughed. The wrinkles on her forehead revealed every time she had frowned over her work. The skin on her hands showed every time she had used them.

Vegeta had enjoyed watching the process at first, but since they had reached their mid- eighties, it was more like watching a sunset: stunningly beautiful, but deep down he feared the day it finally hit the horizon.

That day could be sooner than anyone hoped.

"How's Gohan and Goten?" Trunks was asking Goku, "We haven't really seen them since Pan's wedding!"

Goku answered, though Vegeta was only just aware he was speaking.

Bulma had started having trouble getting up from chairs and the bed for a good few years now, but she was becoming increasingly breathless and would gasp walking up stairs. He had become afraid to make love to her since she had almost stopped breathing afterwards a few times, and he had felt constant anxiety to the point where he refused to stray far from her for the last year.

She was reaching the end, he knew it deep down.

He had no idea how long saiyans lived, but he had worked out Nappa would have been just over a hundred in Earth years when he died and had been showing no signs of stopping.

Vegeta was eighty six and barely looked or felt over thirty five.

He glanced at Goku. His younger rival had lost his wife two years prior and it had devastated the man. It was the only time Vegeta had ever seen Goku shed tears, even throughout all of the battles they had fought together over the years.

He had held Bulma very tight when he had gone home to her that night.

"Grandpa? Can I?"

He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked down at the girl in his arms. Her blue eyes shone so bright in the sunshine of the day, her black hair rippling softly in the wind. Her little blue dungarees reminded him of Pan when she had been a small child. How the years had flown!

"Sorry, Nova, what did you ask?"

"Can I see Grandma?"

Vegeta smirked and placed the girl back down on the floor.

"I'll see if she's up yet. Your Grandma likes to sleep the day away at the moment…" he stated, turning on his heel and marching towards the house.

The saiyan knocked gently and let himself into his and Bulma's room.

The machine which helped her breath at night was still on, the faint hum of it permeated the air.

"Woman? Are you awake?"

He saw her roll onto her back in the darkness and peel the mask off her face. He walked to the side of the bed and sat down next to her.

He smiled down at the elderly beauty, taking a piece of her hair out of her eyes and smoothing the front of her night dress.

"How are you feeling today? Up for visitors?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and smiled sadly.

"I dreamed I was young again and we'd had breakfast on the balcony, like we used to after we got married," she croaked, her throat dry from her breathing machine, "We watched the sun come up, had a shower together and went to find the Dragon Balls!"

Her husband's face cracked a large grin and he chuckled to himself.

"Sounds like a nice dream, I'm sorry to have woken you from it. Trunks and Mira are here with Nova, they want to see you…"

She looked confused for a moment. Vegeta helped her sit up, propped up her pillows behind her and handed her the water from beside the bed. She processed the information while sipping her water.

"Nova, our youngest granddaughter," she reminded herself out loud.

Vegeta nodded, encouraged.

"Are they just here to make a fuss over me? I don't want any special treatment: I'm old, not a charity case! You told them that- right?"

Vegeta took hold of her hand in an effort to calm her.

"The doctor is coming up to tell us what's happening with you and how we can get you better," he explained, "I told you this last night, but after such an exciting dream, you must have forgotten…"

Bulma furrowed her brows and looked at him, concern in her sapphire eyes. She squeezed his hand back and handed her glass to him to put down.

"Can you help me get dressed then? I may be getting older, but I still want to look great!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and smirked at her.

The saiyan prince stared up at the sky from his place on the roof of the compound. The stars seemed particularly bright, gleaming and winking at him through his dark mood.

He cast his mind back to when he had first come to this planet.

Bulma had taken him in when everyone else was happy to call him a monster and leave him to die. He'd been lost after the events on Namek and more than a little out of his depth. He had never known kindness before and was regularly either suspicious or overwhelmed by the woman's treatment of him.

Frieza had used him as a weapon, others had treated him as a threat, a monster, a toy, a slave…

Bulma had been the first being who had seen him as a person, falling in love with her had been inevitable…

He sighed to himself and willed his mind to stay strong.

Suddenly, Goku appeared beside him, making him jump.

"Dammit, Kakarot!" He yelled, standing before him, fuming.

Goku looked apologetic and backed away, his hands held up in surrender.

"I just came to ask what the doctor had said," he explained, "I wanted to give your family some space, but I've known Bulma most of my life… Will she be ok?"

Vegeta shrugged and looked down, trying to find the words without shaming himself with emotion.

"She is not going to get better." He stated to the roof below them, "The doctor said we can care for her at home, but she will deteriorate quickly and it will be a painful process… I'm sorry…"

Goku took a ragged breath and placed his hands over his face.

Vegeta turned away while the warrior composed himself.

"I'm so sorry, Vegeta…" He heard Goku saying, "I know what it's like…If there's anything I can do…"

"There is nothing, but thank you. She has had a long and happy life, do not allow sadness to stop you remembering that."

"It's so unfair though, isn't it?" Goku said, "After all the enemies we've faced, the heights our power has reached and we still have to stand by and watch as people we love die?"

Vegeta chuckled at this. The prince had learned that lesson before the age of ten and was unsurprised by death in all its forms, no matter now painful the loss could be. It was true to his character that Goku hoped to see a way around it.

"Oh, Kakarot, even we cannot control nature. There are some things which should not be interfered with, after all this time, surely you have come to realise that? Sometimes, things have to come to an end…"

Goku stared at him, his expression a mix of confusion and pain.

"I know that, of course I do,"

"Good. Then you will understand."

"Understand what?"

"Goodnight, Goku."

Vegeta calmly passed him and flew down onto the balcony before letting himself inside, leaving his friend contemplating what he had said in the cold air of the night.

Vegeta handed the glass he was holding to Bulma who struggled to sit up to take it from him. The saiyan smiled at her and helped her up, propping the pillows behind her and walking round, getting into the bed next to her. He took his shirt off and placed it on the floor by him before taking her into his arms. His wife purred and curled against his bare chest, sipping her drink.

"So it looks like I have to leave you and the kids and go to the other world," She stated in a matter of fact way, "Chi Chi will be happy to see me at least."

"And Krillin," Vegeta agreed, grabbing a syringe from his nightstand and checking the liquid inside.

"Oh yeh, of course!" She said, giggling to herself, "I have a few friends there now…"

She felt her eyes sting as tears threatened to fall. She kissed his chest gently, enjoying his low growl of pleasure as she did so. She tried to be strong, but as much as she was ready to go, the realisation she would be leaving her husband of fifty years was unbearable.

Vegeta's scent was in her nose and she willed her mind to remember it.

"I'm going to miss you so much…" she whispered.

He pulled her against him tighter and kissed her head, his warm breath soothing her as her tears started to run down her cheeks.

"You don't need to worry about that," he told her gently, "I'm coming with you."

Bulma's mind stopped processing for a moment and she was stunned into silence. She could not understand what he could have meant by such a statement. He was still young, healthy and had years ahead of him…what was he talking about?

Her eyes widened as she saw him place the needle into a vein on the top of his leg and pushed the plunger before she could stop him.

She felt so panicked she wanted to scream and tried to pull away from him in order to hit him for what she realised he had just done.

"What's wrong with you? You shouldn't have done that for me!" She sobbed, "...You can't die first and leave me! Please tell me you have a needle for me too!"

"I did not wish to hurt you…" he replied, his voice strangely soft.

Bulma pressed her face against his skin and drew several calming breaths. Already, she could feel his heart slowing.

"So, you have some drugs for me too then? Can you give them to me?"

"I already have…"

Bulma screwed up her face in confusion. She tried to remember him giving her any medication today, but could not think of anything. She sipped her water again before looking down at it, the answer hitting her.

"It's in the water..?" She asked quietly.

He nodded, his head starting to lull and his black eyes slowly drooping shut.

She drank the rest in a big gulp, placed the glass back down and wrapped her arms around him. Her lips found his and they shared a loving kiss before embracing happily on their pillows, drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.

"I love you, Vegeta. I am so lucky to have found you. Thank you for loving me…"

"Thank you for making my life so happy," he replied, "I have loved our lives together, our children, our adventures…Most of all, I have loved loving you…"

The Saiyan Prince drew his last breath and faded to the other world. His wife, Bulma, followed a few seconds after.

This is how our story ends, my love.

After the dust settles and the fighting stops,

After our garden blooms and children grow up,

After all of the sorrow, all of the joy,

It ends how it began…

Together.