It's time…to r-r-r-read. The next chapter, that is. The final chapter, no less! Enjoy it, folks. It's been a loooong time in the making.

Chapter completed: 2014.06.20

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Chapter 9: Equal

Another day, another humiliating defeat. The losses Vegeta had suffered against the Artificial Humans delivered a devastating blow against his pride that hurt more than any physical injuries he'd sustained. Sure, he could have easily defeated Cell in his incomplete form, but where was the fun in beating an opponent who wasn't fighting at his best? He had let Cell attain his perfect form, believing he would still have the upper hand no matter how much power Cell gained from absorbing #18. Obviously, he had been wrong about that, and he'd promptly had his ass handed to him following Cell's transformation. Even though Vegeta had reached the pinnacle of his race—and even gone above that—this synthetic monster still had power far beyond his reach.

Even more maddening was the fact that Cell was literally treating his battle against them like a game. He had appeared on television to announce the Cell Games, a tournament for the fate of the world. Vegeta didn't give a damn about saving the Earth, but he needed to enter that tournament to avenge his wounded pride. Cell would pay dearly for making a mockery of his Saiyan power.

Immediately after viewing Cell's worldwide broadcast, Vegeta headed toward his bedroom to change into his battle armor. As he walked purposefully down the hallway, he hadn't noticed that Bulma had followed until she called out to him. "Vegeta, wait a minute."

He stopped, but didn't turn around to face her. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"I know, but I just wanted to talk to you before you ran off again. Seems like you're always coming or going somewhere and I never get to see you off."

Of course, that was true because he was frequently avoiding her on purpose, but he was somewhat surprised that she had actually wanted to see him. "Well, spit it out then. I'm in a hurry," he said impatiently.

His dismissive attitude was quickly grating on Bulma's nerves. She had wanted to send him off on a positive note, but apparently having a pleasant experience with this man was nearly impossible. "Jeez, chill out! You're going back into that crazy room again, right? You'll still have a whole year to train even if you spend just one minute talking to me. Anyway, Trunks told me about that time room, and it sounds terrible. I mean, an entire year with no TV or anything? I'd go bonkers in the first week!" She could sense Vegeta's impatience growing even with his back turned to her, so she hurried on to the point she wanted to make. "But besides being a total bore to anyone who's not a battle maniac, it also sounds really dangerous. I want to make sure you and Trunks are being careful in there. You have to watch out for each other, not disappear for weeks at a time like he said you did before. What if one of you gets hurt? Or worse…" She trailed off, not wanting to dwell on that thought. "So you have to promise you'll look after each other better this time, okay? I couldn't take it if something awful happened…to either of you."

That she would express concern for Trunks' wellbeing was a matter of course, but it was quite a shock for Bulma to say that she was worried about Vegeta as well. What had he ever done to make her care about him? "I'm not looking out for anyone but myself. I'm going in alone this time." He couldn't deal with the distraction of his son tagging along again, not when Cell had become so much stronger.

"Are you crazy?! That's way too reckless, even for you! I've seen the way you train; you always push yourself too hard. It's like you don't know your own limits."

"I have no limits. What kind of warrior would I be if I were satisfied with the level I'd reached and stopped trying to go higher? There's always another wall to be scaled."

"And what if you fall off that wall with no one there to catch you? What does all that training amount to if you die because you're too stubborn to accept anyone's help?"

Vegeta started to turn around to face her as his irritation grew. "If you think I'm—" Both his words and movements were cut off as Bulma lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Several moments of silence passed as Vegeta stood stunned by her sudden embrace.

"I know you think you're invincible…" Bulma began, her face resting on his shoulder, "And I know you'll never stop trying to be the best. I guess that's one of your better qualities, scary as it may be sometimes." She paused with a small chuckle. "You could say that single-minded determination is something we have in common. No one can stop us from going after what we want. So I know it's useless to tell you not to do something you've already decided on. Just don't overdo it and get yourself killed needlessly. Trunks came back in time to prevent the horror that humanity went through from happening again. He saved so many lives, including yours. So please…don't throw away the life he saved."

He raised a hand to where one of Bulma's hands was clutching his chest, intending to swat her away and continue on his way. Instead, he ended up resting his hand upon hers. "I would never throw my life away needlessly. I can't take out my opponents if I'm dead, can I? A Saiyan who can't even survive his own training regimen is beyond worthless. So don't underestimate me." He had turned his head slightly toward the shoulder where her face was resting. She was close enough that he could feel her breath upon his cheek.

"I would never. I know how incredible you are at what you do. I just wish you'd rely on the help of others sometimes. You don't have to stand at the top all by yourself."

"I prefer it that way."

"Do you really?" she asked softly. Considering the intimate pose they were currently in, it was hard to declare that he preferred solitude. He became uncomfortably aware of the close proximity they were sharing: her arms wrapped gently but firmly around him, her breasts pressing against his back, her face close enough that their lips could touch without much effort.

"Hey Bulma, did you see…oh." The voice of Yamcha sounded from behind them, causing them to quickly break apart. An awkward silence ensued for a few moments as none of the three could think of what to do or say next.

"I'm going now," Vegeta, his face now a light shade of red, sputtered as he continued down the hallway, now more eager than ever to hurry back to the Room of Spirit and Time and put this baffling situation out of his mind.

After Vegeta's departure, silence continued for a bit longer between the former couple until Yamcha gathered the nerve to ask a question he had been pondering for the past several days. "I probably don't want to know the answer to this, but…is there something going on between you two?"

"Like I told you before, it was just a one time thing with Vegeta. Nothing else has happened since then."

"What I just saw didn't look like 'nothing'."

Bulma sighed and crossed her arms. "I just wanted to see him off before he ran away to do his crazy training again. I was worried he might take it too far, so I was giving him some advice before he left."

"Right, because you normally drape yourself all over someone when giving them advice."

"That was…I don't know, it just ended up happening. When I realized he could get himself killed if he's not careful, I felt like I wanted to protect him somehow. I know it sounds stupid, since I obviously can't stop him from doing anything."

"I don't think it's stupid to want to protect someone you care about." He made the statement mainly to bait her into saying whether she cared about Vegeta or not.

Bulma bit her lip as she hesitated in her response to the implication of Yamcha's statement. Clearly, he was trying to see if she would admit to having feelings for Vegeta, but was this a conversation she really wanted to be having with her ex-boyfriend? She chose a fairly non-committal response. "I guess so."

Yamcha saw that she was not willing to volunteer any information, so he would have to be blunter in his approach. "Do you love him?"

Bulma balked at his directness. "Wow, that sounds like something that's none of your business. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Because the way you looked at him as he was leaving…it's the same way you used to look at me."

She really had no idea how to respond to that observation. Truthfully, she wasn't completely sure what her feelings were toward the father of her child. She certainly cared for him, but his standoffish nature made it difficult for her to feel too close to him. "It's really awkward to discuss this with you. After all the years we dated, it's just too weird to talk to you about my relationship with someone else…though I'm not even sure I can call it a relationship."

"If you get caught up in our history, then yeah, it's weird to talk about this. But we agreed to be friends, right? So let's keep our past where it belongs and move forward." Yamcha also felt quite uncomfortable having this conversation with her, but he genuinely wanted to know if she was satisfied with her current situation.

"As long as you're okay with it…"

Yamcha nodded. "You said you weren't sure if what you have with Vegeta counts as a relationship. So the question is, do you want it to be?"

Such a simple question, yet the answer was more complicated than a mere yes or no. "I'm not sure. I mean, I do care about him, despite all his flaws."

"The Bulma I know doesn't hesitate to go after what she wants, consequences be damned. You threw yourself headfirst into our relationship knowing I was a bandit. Of course, Vegeta's crimes are a lot worse than mine, but I don't think that's what's holding you back."

"You're right. I know he's done terrible, unforgivable things, but his past doesn't matter to me."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Because I have no idea if he cares about me or not. Anytime I feel like we might be getting a bit closer, he disappears. And I can't tell if that's his way of saying he doesn't want that, or if he's afraid of letting something happen, or really what the hell he's thinking at all. He's so distant, like he's put up a wall between himself and everyone else. Over the past couple years, I've seen tiny hints of humanity from him; occasional small gestures that indicated he might care about me. But they're so few and far between, I have to wonder if they're just flukes. So maybe if I saw some real proof that he gives a damn about anyone but himself, I might actually let myself fall for him!"

Bulma had been getting quite worked up as she vented her pent up feelings, so Yamcha put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. "Listen to me. The fact that you're so frustrated right now shows me you really are serious about him. It doesn't matter if I don't understand what you see in him, or even if no one else in the world—including Vegeta himself—understands it. If you believe there's something in him that makes him worthy of having you, then I'll trust you and believe it's there, too."

Bulma was stunned that the man who had once berated her for her one night stand with Vegeta now seemed completely supportive of her having a relationship with him. "Wow. You must've had a big change of opinion about Vegeta to say something like that."

"Don't get me wrong, I still think the guy's an asshole. I'm certainly not gonna become best buddies with him or anything. But if you think you might find happiness with him, then that's good enough. I just hope he's capable of being all you want him to be."

"Well, he's far too disagreeable to become all I'd like him to be. But thanks for your support. I know this must be hard for you…"

Yamcha shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I'm over it now. As your friend, I'm glad to see you move on with your life."

Bulma smiled. "Well, I should be heading on back to the lab now. Papa and I are fixing up #16. Hopefully he'll be able to help beat that Cell monster when he's operational again. Want to come along?"

"No, I should do some training. Not that I'll be much help against Cell, what with all the Saiyans we'll have."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you can rely on those battle-crazy brutes when it comes to a fight, but good luck getting them to do anything else. See you around."

"See you." Once Bulma had walked out of sight, Yamcha found himself letting out a sigh. It was true that he was over her, and was okay with seeing her move on, but despite his outward show of support, he didn't have quite as much faith in Vegeta as he let on. True, it had been a long time since he'd witnessed the Saiyan prince doing something overtly evil, but a mere lack of bad did not necessarily mean goodness had replaced it. He had to trust that Bulma's instincts were right and there was a caring man hidden somewhere under the shroud of pride and arrogance Vegeta cloaked himself in.

Don't you dare disappoint her.

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Damn you, Kakarrot. How dare you go and die like that, when we'd never even had our rematch? The Prince of the Saiyans was leaning against the railing of the large outdoor balcony at Capsule Corporation, feeling defeated even though victory had been won against Cell. It was maddening that, despite all his years of training, he'd been reduced to merely helping from the sidelines. He'd been completely outclassed by father and son alike, and now he would never have the chance to settle the score against the greatest rival he had ever known. When he left the battlefield, Vegeta had declared that he would never fight again, but what else was the Saiyan warrior to do with himself? His entire life had been dedicated to increasing his power and fighting battles. Lacking the motivation to continue those pursuits, what else was left for him?

There was an obvious answer, but it tough for him to admit that it was a valid option. How could one of the greatest warriors the universe had ever known accept a peaceful life of settling down with a family on some backwater planet? Yet, as ridiculous as it sounded, there was something appealing about the idea. He had been preparing for battle so intensely for so many years, it might not be bad to relax for a while. And rather than avoiding them as distractions, he could spend time with Bulma and Trunks…admitting to himself that he actually wanted to do that was the hardest part of all, but after what he'd been through that day it was impossible to deny his feelings anymore.

The image of Trunks dying played over and over in his head. The devastation he'd felt at the moment Cell killed his son in front of him had been even worse than the previous lowest moment of his life, back when he'd realized that he was powerless against Freeza. The sorrowful rage that had exploded within him was different from anything he'd felt before, causing him to act before he could even think. As Kuririn had said shortly after Vegeta's failed attempt to take out Cell, Trunks could be revived by the Dragon Balls, so there was no need waste energy avenging him. But all rationality had left him in that moment, and all he could think of was making Cell pay for taking the life of his son. He'd had no idea that such strong emotions had been hiding inside of him, and now that they'd been brought to the surface, Vegeta was forced into realizing how much Trunks and Bulma both meant to him.

Meanwhile, inside the living room of Capsule Corporation, Yamcha and Trunks had returned from the battlefield and were explaining all that had occurred at the Cell Games to Bulma. Baby Trunks slept peacefully in her arms through their description of the brutal battle everyone had endured. By the end, tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks.

"That Son, it's so like him to recklessly sacrifice himself to save everyone. I feel just awful for Chichi and Gohan." Her lip quivered as she looked up at Trunks. "And you getting killed, I can't even…" She handed baby Trunks off to Yamcha as she rushed forward and threw her arms around the older version of her son. "Thank god you're okay. I don't know what I—well, the me of the future—would do without you."

Trunks patted her on the back. "It's okay, Mom. I'm all right now."

"I'm so glad."

"I'm sure you're not the only one who's glad Trunks made it through," Yamcha suggested. "A certain someone attacked Cell in a rage when he saw his son get killed."

Bulma looked over to Yamcha, a shocked look registering on her face. "What? Vegeta did that?"

"Yeah, he was the angriest I've ever seen him. And for a guy as prone to fits of rage as Vegeta, that's saying something."

"Is it true?" She turned to look at Trunks again. "Trunks, did he really do that?"

"Uh, I wouldn't know…I was dead."

Yamcha chuckled. "It's true, you can ask the others when they come here tomorrow." Before he'd even finished talking, Bulma had taken baby Trunks from his arms, thrust the child into the arms of his older self, and pulled Yamcha into a firm embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"No problem. Now, go get him."

Bulma laughed softly. "Not sure it'll be quite that easy, but I appreciate the vote of confidence."

Bulma's mother walked into a scene that included her daughter hugging her ex-boyfriend as both present and future versions of her son looked on, but she paid no mind to any of it. "Oh, there you all are. Would you like some snacks? I've got a tray ready to go in the kitchen, let me go fetch it for you. Could you give me a hand, Bulma?"

"Sure." She retrieved her baby and headed out the door with her mother.

"Uh…what just happened here?" Trunks asked uncertainly.

"You helped your parents get back together."

Trunks could do nothing but stare back in hopeless confusion.

"So…" Bulma's mother began as they walked down the hall, a mischievous tone apparent in her voice. "What's going on with you and Yamcha?"

"Nothing at all, we're just friends now. I was thanking him for helping me out."

"Oh, what did he help you with?"

"A decision."

"What kind of decision?"

Bulma was getting irritated with the prying questions. Just because she had decided she wanted to pursue an actual relationship with Vegeta, it didn't mean he would automatically agree to it. But giving her even a hint of what was going on would result in her mother planning a wedding for them. She wanted to give an answer that hid as much as possible while looking like she wasn't hiding anything at all. "I just…had trouble deciding…what to do about…" As she haltingly searched for words, her eyes darted over toward the sliding glass doors they were passing. She noticed a figure out on the balcony, causing her to inadvertently reveal what she was thinking about "…him."

"Him?" The matron of Capsule Corporation squinted through the glass. "Oh, Veggie! So what did you decide about him?" She gasped and squealed, "Are you giving me more grandbabies?!"

Bulma nearly fell over. "Jeez, Mama, you're getting waaaay ahead of yourself! I just need to talk to him. Could you take Trunks for a while?"

"Oh, I'll take him for the rest of the night. You just do whatever you need to do." One of her eyes opened and closed again in a wink.

She gritted her teeth as she handed over her son. "It's…not…like…that. I'll come get Trunks in a little while." Her mother was clearly not listening as she practically skipped down the hallway, telling her little grandson all about the beautiful wedding his parents were going to be having.

Bulma took a deep breath to clear her mind of her mother's antics as she slid open the glass door and made her way over to the railing Vegeta was leaning against. She looked up to the stars, not sure how she should start this conversation. She certainly couldn't rely on Vegeta to start talking without any prompting. It would probably be best to start by discussing something else and somehow turn it into the talk she wanted to have. "Hard to believe he's really gone."

Vegeta snorted. "Dying a heroic death that turned out to be useless. A disgrace to the Saiyan race."

"It must be hard on you. There's so few of you left."

"I'm the only one left. The prince of an extinct race."

"They may not be pure-blooded like you, but Trunks and Gohan still count as Saiyans. You don't need to make yourself into some lone wolf who's lost his pack. You have…a family." She looked toward him, and though he could feel her eyes upon him, he refused to look back. "I heard about what happened to Trunks today. I don't even want to imagine how horrible it must have been, having to witness that. And I heard it made you react in a way I wasn't even sure you were capable of, a way that showed you actually cared about someone else."

She seemed to be waiting for a response from him, but there was no way he could acknowledge what she was saying, even if it was true. He continued to stare straight ahead into the city lights, waiting to see if she would continue.

"I've been struggling to figure you out the past couple years. It's been hard to tell what you're thinking. Even though there were times when I saw signs that you might care about me, they happened so infrequently. I couldn't tell if those gestures were an indication of what you really felt, or just things you did out of pity. But knowing that you were devastated at the death of our son tells me all I need to know. I finally know that this family actually means something to you, and I feel like I can just…let myself fall in love with you."

"Are you stupid?" He finally looked at her, his eyes widened in astonishment. Never had he imagined anyone would use the word 'love' in connection with him.

"Excuse me?!" She definitely hadn't expected that her heartfelt confession would result in an insult against her intelligence.

"Love is a weakness, a distraction that keeps you from reaching your goals. Only an idiot would willingly fall into such a trap."

I'm dealing with an emotionally stunted man who doesn't even know what love is. Great. Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me about love like you know what you're talking about. It's not a weakness, it gives you strength, and enriches your life. And loved ones don't distract you from your goals, they motivate you to push even further. Jeez, who told you this stuff? What, were you Saiyans not allowed to fall in love?"

"No, I just genuinely never gave a shit about anyone before." The 'before' slipped out before he could stop it, and he hoped Bulma wouldn't pick up on it.

She, of course, picked it up immediately. "Oh, so since you never gave a shit about anyone before, do you mean to imply that you do now?"

"I didn't mean to imply it," he grumbled under his breath.

Bulma sighed. "So is that the best I can get from you? Can't help but feel a bit unsatisfied with that. Here I am, confessing my feelings for you, while you can only accidentally imply that you feel something for me. I guess you showed you cared on the battlefield, but it'd be nice to hear you actually say something for once."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You want to know what I think?" He turned his gaze up toward the heavens. "You…confuse me." It was the most honest answer he could give her. "You were raised on a planet full of idiots. Can you believe they're actually stupid enough to think some showoff blowhard is their savior?" he scoffed as he recalled the chants of 'Satan!' rising from each city as he flew back from the battlefield. "But you're different somehow. Obviously, you have superior technological abilities compared to other Earthlings—compared to many alien species, actually—but there's something besides intelligence that sets you apart. I suppose you have a number of admirable qualities, but you can also irritate the hell out of me. Despite that, there's just something…appealing about you. But I can't figure out what makes you so damn special that you stay lodged in my mind."

Bulma lunged toward him, nearly knocking him off balance as she threw her arms around him. He stood stunned and motionless for a moment, then slowly raised his arms from his sides and wrapped them around her waist. He didn't understand why his words had caused her to suddenly embrace him, but he wasn't going to discourage her.

Bulma smiled broadly as she buried her face in his shoulder. Though Vegeta obviously didn't know how to express his emotions, it was clear that he did feel something for her, even if he wouldn't be able to define it as 'like' or 'love'. "I understand." Vegeta had no clue how she could know what he was saying when he didn't even know himself, but he continued to hold her regardless.

Yamcha and Trunks, having finished the snacks Bulma's mother had brought to them, were walking down the hallway on their way to their guest rooms. Yamcha paused when he noticed a pair of figures out on the balcony, nudging Trunks with his elbow. "See, what did I tell you? That explains why your grandma was so giddy when she dropped off those snacks, and why Bulma didn't come back with her."

Trunks peered through the glass. "Wow. You were right. Wonder what Mom will think when I tell her about this."

"If the future Bulma is anything like the current one, she'll probably be surprised, but pretend like she knew it'd happen all along."

Trunks laughed. "Yeah, that sure sounds like her."

Yamcha chuckled. "All right, let's get going. I'm sure they'd both try to kill us if they caught us spying." He took one last glance over his shoulder as they headed away from the door, a slightly pensive smile on his face. You'd better make her happy.

Bulma eventually loosened her grip, leaning back so she could look Vegeta in the eye. "I've been thinking...it's really a shame that Trunks had to grow up in a future without you. It's obvious that he'd longed to know you all his life. And maybe you didn't turn out to be all he'd hoped for, but I think he's glad he got to know you. I know I said before that I didn't need you to be involved with our son's life, but I don't think that'd be right anymore. It would be even more of a shame for our baby to grow up without you when you're alive and well. I'd like for you to stick around so we can all be together as a family. So…will you stay?"

Before, he had spent most of his time away from her, trying to keep her from becoming too much of a distraction to his training. Now that he had vowed never to fight again, there was no reason to leave for weeks or months at a time; his new purpose could be right here in front of him. "I don't have anywhere else I need to be," he said in a soft tone, meeting her gaze unwaveringly.

Bulma smiled gently and leaned forward to place her lips upon Vegeta's. He returned the kiss hesitantly at first, still questioning in his mind whether it was acceptable to allow himself to fall into such a mundane lifestyle. Fighting was likely too much in his blood for him to stop forever, but for now, it was all right to let himself relax and enjoy a different way of life. He kissed her back with gusto, gripping her tighter and pressing their bodies closer together.

She was still beaming as she pulled her face away from his. "I know you're not used to this relationship stuff. You don't have to start calling yourself my boyfriend or anything; we can take it slow and not worry about labeling it as anything right now. We'll just be…together." They kissed again, in a markedly more passionate manner than before. Once Bulma had freed her tongue from Vegeta's mouth, she struggled to catch her breath in order to speak again. "Then again, 'taking it slow' doesn't really suit either of our styles. Maybe we should head inside. It's been, what, a year and a half since either of us...you know, had some real fun?"

"It might've been a year and a half for you, but not for me."

"Oh really?" Bulma said flatly, her expression darkening. Sure, they hadn't been a couple in the interim, but the thought that he had been someone else immediately set her jealousy aflame.

"It's been three and a half years for me," Vegeta clarified.

Realizing that he had been referring to the time he spent in the Room of Spirit and Time, Bulma settled down. "Well, that sounds like a problem we need to fix as soon as possible." She grabbed his hand and led him inside, but paused once they entered as she remembered something. "Dammit…she was right," Bulma muttered to herself. "Wait a sec, I need to take care of something first."

She paged for her mother over the intercom and soon had her on the line. "Hey. Um…could you do me a favor and—"

"I'm getting Trunks into his jammies, and he's all ready to spend the night with Grammy and Grampy," Bulma's mother interrupted, already assuming what her daughter would be asking her to do. "Don't you worry about a thing, just have fun tonight."

"Uh, thanks. See you in the morning." She was both slightly irritated and relieved at her mother's meddling. She turned to Vegeta after hanging up. "Well, apparently someone knew this was going to happen even before we did, so Trunks is taken care of for tonight. Let's—" Before she could even finish talking, Vegeta had picked her up and started moving through the hallways at super speed. She clinched tightly to him, trying not to let the dizzying speed get to her.

Her head was spinning as he came to a stop in front of his room. Once the door had closed behind them, he began kissing her roughly, chucking his armor aside and tearing both of their clothing to shreds in his haste to remove them as they stumbled toward the bed. She soon found herself lying on the bed with Vegeta over her, appearing poised to insert himself into her. "Whoa, um, aren't you moving a bit fast?"

"What?" Vegeta huffed impatiently. She was the one who had suggested they do this as soon as possible, so why was she complaining about the pacing?

"You're kinda skipping all the…you know, preparation?"

Vegeta stared blankly at her. Bulma rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Foreplay!" Seeing not a single hint of comprehension on his face, she sighed with exasperation. "Really? No one's ever told you this? Man, I feel sorry for everyone you've slept with before." She squinted, looking suspicious. "How many women have you been with, anyway?"

"Hundreds," he lied, keeping his expression flat. He had no idea if the number sounded plausible, but at least it seemed impressive.

"Really? I doubt that."

"Fine, you got me. Dozens."

"I don't think so." She was putting the pieces together in her mind. She knew he had no experience with relationships, and had seemed uncomfortable even with hugging back when they had attended her friend's wedding. "I think it's lower…a lot lower than that. Like, just one." He stared straight ahead, neither confirming nor denying her suspicion. But Bulma could tell she had figured out the truth by his refusal to acknowledge her statement. "So when we did it last time, you were…a virgin?"

There wasn't much point in denying it now that she had figured it out. "So what?"

"Oh my god, that's…" She was interrupted by her own giggles. "That's so…" Her giggles erupted into full-blown laughter.

"Am I missing something funny?" Vegeta snarled, quickly becoming irritated at her apparent mocking of him.

She calmed down enough to speak. "Sorry, I'm not making fun of you. I just can't even imagine staying a virgin into my thirties. I would've died of boredom!" She reached up and stroked his face. "I think it's cute."

Vegeta growled. If there was one word he never wished to be described as, it was 'cute'.

"I should consider it an honor, really. The Prince of the Saiyans, saving himself especially for me!"

"Don't flatter yourself." Vegeta scoffed. "I wasn't particularly saving myself for someone. I planned to never get involved with anyone because it would distract me from my training. Clearly, I was right about that."

"Well, instead of this being a distraction from your training, it can become your new training," she said, smirking seductively. "I guess I'm lucky that you don't have experience. It means you don't have any bad habits that need to be broken. I can train you to do exactly what I want." Before he could protest being turned into her personal plaything, she had locked lips with him again and begun maneuvering their bodies so he was on his back and she was sitting on top of him. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her breasts. "Now, time to begin your first training session. These are boobs. They play a very important role in getting a woman ready for sex."

His face was turning red from both embarrassment and anger. Not only did he find her frank explanation crude and rather vulgar, but she was treating him like he was stupid. He was reminded that one reason he'd hidden his inexperience was because he knew she could be very condescending. "Don't patronize me. I figured it out well enough last time, didn't I?" He looked directly at her as he rubbed his thumbs against her nipples, feeling them harden as he watched her face scrunch up with pleasure.

"Mmm, yeah, I guess you know a little bit from before…" She leaned forward farther, putting her breasts right in front of his face. He took the opportunity to lick and lightly nibble at her nipples, relishing the moans that came forth. Bulma grabbed his face and kissed him enthusiastically, intertwining her tongue with his in a passionate dance.

His hand drifted toward the junction of where she was sitting atop his stomach. He slipped a finger into her, feeling how incredibly hot and moist she was inside. "For someone who was bitching about not getting enough 'preparation', it sure doesn't take much to get you ready," Vegeta said with a chuckle.

"Well, it has been a while since the last time. Such a long wait can greatly shorten the prep time." Bulma backed up, positioning herself directly over his erection. Both of them gasped as she slid downward, inserting him inside herself. She braced herself by placing her hands on his chest and began grinding up and down, back and forth.

He didn't even care that she was dominating him; this felt too amazing. So amazing, in fact, that he knew he wouldn't last long. He tried to prolong it as long as he could, but didn't even last thirty seconds. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, hoping she wouldn't realize it right away.

Bulma kept grinding away a bit longer, but soon noticed that he was no longer hard. "What the hell…did you just…?" She smacked him on the chest. "You bastard! You can't just finish by yourself like that."

"Sorry," he mumbled almost inaudibly. It's your fault for being so damn good at this. He chose to keep that accusatory compliment to himself.

"You'd better hope you've got another one in you. I am not going unsatisfied tonight." She leaned down to take his flaccid member into her mouth, lightly stroking him with one hand as her head bobbed up and down. It didn't take long for him to not only be fully erect again, but also feel like she could easily make him come again if she continued. Luckily, Bulma knew when to stop. "Hmm, looks like you Saiyans recover quickly both on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Good to know."

Vegeta arose from his prone position, lightly pushing her onto her back and hovering over her as he poised himself to enter her. Bulma made a face. "I don't know, missionary is such a boring position for such a special day. You need to learn new positions for your training, so let's try something else." She rolled onto her stomach, then pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. "Let's do it like animals."

His face reddened once again. Her lewd talk was uncomfortable to listen to. Plus, how was he supposed to see what he was doing with her round, perky ass dancing around in front of him? He grabbed her hips to keep her still and carefully pushed himself against her, hoping he would find where he was supposed to go without too much aimless poking.

Bulma squealed. "Whoa, watch what hole you're aiming for there! We're not getting into any of the really kinky stuff…yet."

"Shut…up!" He adjusted his aim lower and slid inside her, finally finding the opening he'd been looking for.

"Don't tell me to…ah!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," he repeated with each thrust. Bulma seemed like she wanted to protest, but only managed lustful moans that spurred him to continue grinding his hips ever faster. He reached around to fondle her breasts, savoring the pleasure-filled vocalizations his actions elicited. She leaned her body back and turned her head over her shoulder, pulling his face closer to kiss him. Their hips rocked in time with each other until Bulma was struck by a powerful orgasm, causing her to let out an animalistic shriek and collapse forward on the bed. Vegeta grunted as he pumped into her a few more times before finishing, then rolled to the side to lie next to her. There was silence for a while as both of them tried to catch their breath. Looks like I've found a surefire way to shut her up whenever she's annoying me, Vegeta thought with a smirk.

Bulma turned over and draped an arm across him. "Well, for a beginner I'd say you did pretty good. Though this time was fairly easy since it'd been so long. You'll definitely need more training. I can already think of some lessons I'll need to plan: more positions, techniques, use of toys…"

"Toys?" His raised eyebrow indicated he had no idea that the toys she was referring to were definitely not children's playthings.

Bulma giggled. "Wow. So naïve. I have so much to teach you." She grinned as she snuggled closer to him.

Vegeta put an arm around her, lightly stroking her bare back. Having her as his 'teacher' would undoubtedly lead to conflicts, given both of their generally disagreeable attitudes, but the contentious nature of their relationship was half the fun. It may not be the sort of training he was used to, but it might suffice to keep him from missing the battlefields he had known his entire life. This is…all right, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Bulma awoke first the next morning, gazing upon Vegeta's dozing face. His brow was furrowed even in his sleep. Is he ever not angry? Well, she had seen some interesting expressions from him when they were making love; it would remain to be seen if she could pull any pleasant faces from him outside of the bedroom. Their conversations ended in bickering at least half the time, and it was hard to imagine that statistic would change just because they were an actual couple now. Nevertheless, she was determined to make things work with her baby's father.

She grew impatient waiting for him to wake up, so she decided to awaken him with a smooch. Usually in fairytales, it was the prince who was supposed to awaken his lady with a kiss…then again, fairytale princes also typically rode in on a white horse, not came crashing down to earth in a white space pod like hers had. She placed her lips on his, keeping them there for several moments until he finally opened his eyes. He looked slightly alarmed at first, but then relaxed against the pillow. "Good morning," she chimed in a singsong voice.

Vegeta grumbled something unintelligible, but she could see the barest hint of a smile on his lips. He suddenly rolled over on top of her and began kissing her with zeal. She returned the kiss at first, but then broke her lips away as she was distracted by the feeling that she was forgetting something. "Wait…what time is it?"

"Who cares?" Vegeta muttered, moving his lips down to her neck.

She looked around the room for a clock, but found none. "Do you seriously not even have a clock in here? Are you that out of touch with society?"

"What use do I have for time?" Vegeta had always kept to his own personal training schedule, never really caring whether it was night or day.

"Well, it kinda matters today because Trunks is going back to his time. Everyone's coming over to see him off. I think Mama said she wanted to have a big farewell breakfast before he left."

Vegeta could sense the ki of several Z Warriors within Capsule Corporation. She would obviously be too distracted for him to continue what he'd been trying to do, so he might as well tell her. "They're already here."

"Crap." Bulma jumped out of bed. "And how am I supposed to greet everyone wearing this?" she picked up the tattered remains of the clothes Vegeta had reduced to scraps of fabric the night before.

The Saiyan prince merely shrugged in response. Bulma growled and ripped the sheet from his bed, wrapping it around her naked body. "I guess I can make it to my room wearing this. Though since everyone's already here, you should use your super speed to get me there faster."

"Fine," he grumbled, becoming irritated at her bossy attitude. He quickly dressed in casual clothes of his own, then stepped out carrying the sheet-clad Bulma, moving swiftly through the hallways until they reached her room.

"Stay out here. I don't want you coming in and trying to seduce me or something."

He couldn't really protest her request, since he had absolutely been planning to do exactly what she was accusing him of.

She emerged a few minutes later. "All right, let's go."

Vegeta sped to the entrance to the dining area, set Bulma down and turned around leave. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm sure your friends don't want me hanging around while they share fond memories of their good friend Kakarrot." Never mind that he didn't feel his presence would be welcome, but he was uncomfortable with the idea of hanging out in such a social environment.

"We're a family now, remember? I know you're not used to stuff like this, but it would mean a lot if you'd join me." She grabbed his hand. "Please?"

He declined to respond, so Bulma took his lack of protest as agreement and pulled him through the door. "Good morning, guys! Sorry we're late."

Vegeta could see stunned expressions on many of the guests' faces, and his own face became flushed as he realized how incredibly obvious it must be what had happened between Bulma and him. Arriving together—late, no less—and holding hands? They were practically announcing 'we totally had sex last night!' to everyone. His instincts urged him to flee, but Bulma gripped his hand even tighter.

They walked over to the table, where there were two empty chairs between Trunks and Yamcha. "Go ahead and sit down, I'll be right back."

Vegeta took the seat next to his future son, feeling like the eyes of everyone at the table were on him. "W-what are you staring at?" he sputtered in a manner that he intended to sound threatening, but came out quite weakly. Still, it caused most of the guests to go back to eating and chatting as they had been before.

Yamcha leaned over the empty chair between them and chuckled. "I don't blame you for sleeping in. She can be quite a handful," he whispered.

Vegeta's ears turned red. "Shut up." He began shoveling food in his mouth, both because he was starving, and so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

Bulma soon reentered the room, cradling baby Trunks in her arms. She took the empty place at the table between her past and current lovers. She glanced at Yamcha, shooting him a grateful smile. "Thanks again for your help," she said quietly.

"No problem." She was beaming so brightly he couldn't help but smile back. Seeing how happy she was, and that Vegeta was looking about as sullen as usual but with less anger in his eyes, he was glad that he had chosen to help them. A part inside of him hurt knowing that he had unquestionably lost her for good, but at least he could start their new bond of friendship knowing he'd helped guide her to the start of a new path to happiness. He could finally let go of his feelings for her with no regrets.

Baby Trunks made small cooing sounds as Bulma balanced him on her lap while she ate. She had said she wanted the three of them to be a family together, but Vegeta honestly had no idea how to bond with a baby, especially one that screamed and cried every time he looked at him. Spending time with the older Trunks had made him feel more attached to the child than he had before, but attempting to raise him together with Bulma would be a major undertaking.

He glimpsed sideways and noticed that the baby was staring right at him. He caught his gaze and waited for the bawling to begin. Instead, the infant surprised him by smiling and giggling.

Bulma didn't let the moment escape her notice. "See what happens when you don't look at your baby like you want to murder him?" She lifted Trunks above her head, bouncing him up and down playfully. "See, your Papa's not as bad as he wants everyone to think he is."

She was drawing far too much attention for Vegeta's liking. Luckily, Bulma's mother entered from the kitchen, taking the focus away from them. "Got some more food for everyone!" After setting a tray down on the table, she walked over to where Vegeta and Bulma were sitting. "Now, have you picked a date yet? I was trying to think of a color scheme, but then I thought the colors should be tied to the season. Like pastels for the springtime, or rich colors for fall. Ooh, if it's gonna be in the summer, we should definitely have the ceremony outside!"

"Ceremony?" Vegeta shot a puzzled look at Bulma, whose face was turning red.

"Mama…please…stop."

"I guess we'll have to wait to pick out flowers since we don't know your colors yet. But we can talk about cake flavors. Definitely gotta have chocolate, but what kind of filling? Something fruity would be good, maybe raspberry or lemon."

"What is she talking about?" Vegeta asked slowly and suspiciously.

Her mother overheard the question. "Your wedding, of course!"

So much for keeping the focus off themselves. Every astonished eye in the room was now on Vegeta and Bulma.

Bulma had been seething with anger, and finally exploded. "Don't go planning other people's weddings without their permission! I never said anything about getting married!"

"Aww, but little Trunks will be so sad if you don't. Won't you, darling?" Though she was referencing baby Trunks, she was addressing the one from the future, assuming he would speak for his younger self.

"I…uh…no comment." The tension in the room broke as everyone started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I swear I didn't put her up to this," Bulma said softly, knowing he must be mortified by this situation.

Vegeta nodded. He had lived at Capsule Corporation long enough to know all about Bulma's mother's meddlesome personality.

"I'm sure she'll keep trying to pressure us, 'cause that's just the way she is. But all that matters is what we decide. Together." She placed her hand on top of his.

He glanced her away and allowed a tender smile to flash across his face for just a moment. It lasted barely long enough for her to catch it, but she returned it gratefully. Her mother was clearly getting way ahead of herself by starting to plan a wedding, but Bulma couldn't get too mad at her. It was too early to tell for sure, but it certainly wasn't impossible that they would end up getting married.

Not yet…but maybe someday.

After completing breakfast, everyone went out to the yard to bid farewell to Trunks. He said his goodbyes to everyone, including a silent exchange of hand signals with his father. He took off in his time machine, heading back to a much bleaker time than the one he was leaving, but with hope in his heart that he could make a difference.

"Mom, I'm home!" Trunks greeted Bulma as he arrived at Capsule Corporation, a markedly more dilapidated version of the very same building he had just departed from. Hopefully once the Artificial Humans were done away with, it could be restored to its former glory, along with the rest of the cities that had been destroyed.

He told Bulma about everything he had experienced in the past, starting from the increased number of Artificial Humans, all the way to their eventual hard-won defeat of Cell. When he told her that he saw his father was more than just a cold-hearted man, she seemed slightly surprised, but wasn't too fazed by it. He figured the next piece of news he told her might be a bit more shocking, though.

"Speaking of Dad, it seems like he and young Mom ended up getting back together."

Bulma looked dumbfounded. "W-whaaaat?!"

"Yeah, I don't know the details, but Yamcha said she needed some proof that he cared about us, and when she heard that he freaked out over my death, she finally knew that we mattered to him."

Pretty much everything he said was a stunning reversal of the history she knew. "Wait, Yamcha was involved with it? We were on such bad terms after we broke up, I barely ever talked to him after that."

"It seems like the past versions made up and became friends."

Huh. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. She pushed thoughts of Yamcha aside to focus on the more interesting revelation Trunks had made. "So what happened with young me and Vegeta? Are you sure they got back together?"

"Last night, I was walking to my room and saw them hugging each other out on the balcony. And this morning…" Trunks blushed, not feeling too comfortable telling his mother about her past self seemingly not caring that everyone could tell that the two of them had spent the night together. "They came to breakfast together. And it was…pretty clear that they didn't just coincidentally meet up and arrive at the same time."

A broadcast came on detailing the recent exploits of #17 and #18, and Trunks was almost relieved, feeling he would rather have a life-or-death battle than continue this awkward conversation with his mother. He headed off, assuring her that he would win this time, leaving Bulma to ponder the shocking revelations her son had made about the altered past.

"So she made up with Yamcha and got back together with Vegeta. Feels weird to be jealous of myself…" She lit a cigarette and took a few puffs. Bulma had always wondered what might have happened if Vegeta had lived. Unfortunately, she hadn't realized how much she cared for him until after he was dead, and she'd regretted never getting the chance to try to work things out with him. Until now, she'd had no idea if he would have reciprocated her feelings. Even if she couldn't have him in her own life, at least there was a time and place where the two of them could be happy together.

Bulma smiled wistfully. "I guess it turned out to be more than just a miscalculation, after all."

THE END

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Author's notes: I…DID…IT. This month marks the seven-year anniversary of when I finally got around to starting this fic, at which point it had already been in my mind for several years. So more than a dozen years after the first ideas for this story started dancing around in my head, I've finally got them all out there! It's a relief, and an accomplishment, but also sad. I've had fun and frustrations along the way, and as usual it turned out to be a highly idealized headcanon version of events that probably gives too much credit to the characters (maybe Vegeta's a bit soft in the end…but I love hiiiiiim 3).

On the other hand, I really wanted to give some credit to a character who's often raked across the coals by VegeBul fans: Yamcha. I actually like him, and always hated how most fics I'd read in the past portrayed him as a guy who eats puppies and rapes babies (or was it the other way around? :P) It seemed that later in the series he and Bulma were friends, so I decided to explore how that dynamic came about. Sometimes, that side story dominated more than I originally intended, even further screwing up my already terrible chapter planning skills (I'm sure I mentioned it before, but I originally imagined this fanfic would be four chapters long…yeeeeah). I'm fucking tired of that meme, but this chapter is literally over 9,000 words long -_-;;

So what's next for me? I have vague plans for a Tenjou Tenge fanfic, but knowing me, it could take years before I actually get around to writing it. After taking seven years to write one damn story, I feel like doing a different medium of fan work, like making AMVs. As always, I've babbled on for too long, so I'll just end by saying thank you to everyone who read this, whether you're a lucky bastard who just started reading recently, or a poor bastard who's been putting up with my slow updates the entire time. You're ALL number one ^_^