This is my first fic ever and english is not my mother language, so please be gentle.

This is a two-shot (maybe three?) and it's set in Mirai timeline, before Vegeta's death. He is a little (okay, a bit!) OC, but I hope you can forgive the liberties I took. I am kinda playing with the possibility: "what if Vegeta and Bulma got together at some point between Namek and the 130 days?" Not entirely AU, but diverges from canon.

Oh, I don't own the characters, I'm just playing with them for a while.

Please review :)

Ties that Bind

I - Lovers

The fires lit the night sky, making it all orange and red gleam. It kinda made her think about fireworks, as absurd as it seemed. She couldn't really picture why she thought of fireworks, of all things. Fireworks reminded her of happiness, family and celebrations and certainly she wasn't in a festive mood that night. Yet, Sapphire City was burning like fireworks and if wasn't for the countless lives lost in the process Bulma could say it was a wonderful sight. Hearing footsteps, she turned to see Vegeta standing there, all clad in his armor. He barely recovered from his last session in the gravity room, where he nearly killed himself in his effort to gain more strength, but when the city started to burn he suited up without saying another word. He was ready for battle, but Bulma certainly was not. He stood beside her, looking at the sky, preparing, anticipating.

"You don't have to do this, Vegeta. You don't have to fight them, at least not right now."

Bulma sounded as desperate as she was, but Vegeta stood stoic, like marble stone, and replied with no emotion in his voice, without even looking at her direction:

"We both know I do. I made a promise…"

"You also made a promise to be here… with me." her voice was pleading, and normally she would hate how weak she sounded, but in that moment she was past care.

"I said I would protect you with my life if necessary, and I will do just that. Those machines are a threat to you as well. Or do you really think they don't know about you, hn? You had your clash with the Red Ribbon in the past, surely those machines have data on that. They probably know you are a great scientist and therefore a threat to them." Vegeta answered, holding her by her shoulders and locking her blue eyes with his dark ones "The only reason why you are alive right now is because they can't feel your ki. Killing them is the only way to keep you safe. And besides, I told that moron I would do my best to defend earth… He was an idiot and I hated him, but I made a promise to the man in his dying bed, and I swore on my honor as a saiyan. I cannot go back on that promise…"

"Maybe there is another way… a better way"

"What are you talking about now?"

Bulma sighed, before explaining herself. It wasn't really a plan yet, but it was certainly the seed of a plan. It could be possible, it could work. And maybe he didn't have to go… "Maybe he didn't have to die" she thought to herself. She hated herself for giving into despair, but after seeing those monsters killing about each and every one of her friends, she dared not to get her hope high:

"I've been studying my dad's notes, trying to find clues to help us with the androids and I actually found something… It is nothing concrete right now, but it gave me some ideas…"

"Ideas on what?" he asked. She looked him right into his eyes before answering:

"On how to build a time machine…"

Vegeta looked contemplative for a minute. She dared not to think, she dared not to breathe. She waited until realization came to him, until he finally understood the meaning of her words. A time machine meant not only the possibility of victory but so, so much more. It meant a change in destiny itself… "If I can make it work, it could alter history… our history. It's not only about vanquishing the androids, but about preventing everyone from dying. Everyone. Even Goku". After a while Vegeta answered:

"Time travel… Is that… is that even possible?"

"I believe it is. If I manage to build a time machine, one of us could go back in time and warn our past selves about what is to come. You guys could actually prepare for this fight. Think about it, Vegeta: if we could warn you about the arrival of the androids, you guys would have months to prepare… damn, not months, years even! Just imagine how much stronger you all could become. And if you manage to get more power, nobody would die… neither Krilin, or Piccolo… not even Goku. His illness progressed so fast that I never really had time to find a cure for him, but I can start working on that and I am sure I can come up with something. We could fix everything, Vegeta. Everything!"

"And how long it would take for you to build this machine?"

Bulma sighed and looked away. It was the only flaw in her plan: time itself, the only thing they needed so desperately, yet were so short of. Even for a genius like her, time-traveling would be a challenging feat: there was no saying on how long it could take until she could achieve it. She knew she couldn't lie to Vegeta, he would never buy it. Resigned, Bulma answered:

"I don't know. I don't really have anything at the moment; just some rough calculations… time-traveling still stands in conjectural terrain, at best. I guess it would be a couple of years until I get somewhere, probably."

"The people in that city don't have a couple of years…"

The blue haired heiress turned to him, her voice sounding even higher and more desperate, if possible. She held him for dear life, as she passionately spoke:

"No, they don't. But we both know they are beyond salvation now, so there is no point in risking your life for them. I know it sounds cruel, but it's the truth. They died the moment the androids laid eyes on that city. You know I am right. They're already dead, but you are not. You could stay here with Trunks and me. You still have the gravity room, you can train and build up your strength. In the meantime I would work in the time machine and when it's finished you could go back in time and warn us about the androids. This could work" She rested her head on his shoulder and let the tears fall, as he wrapped his arms around her. She inhaled at his scent, so like him, and dared not to think what would be like to live without her prince. He sighed, and spoke:

"You know me, Bulma. You know I can't do this. They are looking for me right now, and they will keep looking for me, burning everything they can until they get to me. I can't just hide here for years while those machines destroy this planet. I swore to Kakarot that I would do what I can in his stance to protect earth. He was dying and he made me promise that I would defend this fucking mud ball… Hiding away from the fight is not the way to do it."

"But what if you die today? What do I do then?"

At this point her tears were falling freely, clouding her eyes and staining her face. He gently lifted her head, and wiped away the tears, caressing her locks as he did so:

"Remember me. Remember why I am doing this. Remember that I really lived up to the promise I made, the promise to protect you, and earth. Remember that I did everything in my power to stop those monsters. Remember that I love you… both of you. Remember that you gave me life, and hope, and so much more than I ever dared to dream."

It wasn't fair. She lost so much already, but losing him seemed unbearable. Vegeta brought her face to his, and gently kissed her. He has never been a man for such displays of affection, but everything that happened since their first encounter made him a different man. He was no strange to the death, for his life has always been in danger since his childhood. He was still the proud prince of saiyans, the fierce warrior, the once ruthless killer, but he seemed to understand now what is like to love so dearly that his heart would break at the mere thought of losing his loved ones… His wife, and child, they were everything that mattered to him, and he would fight the monsters for them, to give them hope for the future, to protect them.

When they parted, he looked at her sad, teary blue eyes, brought his face closer to hers and kissed her forehead gently. She sighed, not quite ready to let him go, but the prince looked over to where their son was laying, and she understood what he wanted.

"I only wish he was older…" said Vegeta, letting go of her and walking over to where Trunks laid, playing with his toys, unaware of the danger of death looming above them. Bulma had an idea, a last minute thing: she kept a camera in her lab, one that she used to record her experiments. It was lying idly in the table besides her. She picked up the camera and started to record. Vegeta had his back to her, so he couldn't see what she was doing. The prince picked up his son from the ground and hugged him. The boy protested at first, having been robbed of his toys, but as soon as he felt his father's embrace, he gave into him. The saiyan looked to his son, and said:

"Trunks… my son… I know you don't understand me, and if all goes ill today, you won't even remember me. Nonetheless, I have some things to say to you… I love you, my son. I love you fiercely, never doubt that." Vegeta paused, as if looking for the right words, or as if it pained him to say them aloud. Bulma understood: Vegeta knew he was probably walking towards his death, yet he couldn't walk away from it. Once again she found herself crying, while she witnessed the sweet moment between father and son "That is why I have to leave now. When Kakarot died, I swore an oath to be earth's protector. Now, all of our allies are dead and I have to fight those monsters, I have to try. So, I am making my last stand today. If I die, please, remember: I am proud of you, and I am proud of what you have yet to become. You will grow. You will become stronger, even stronger than me. You are everything that is left of me, everything that is left of our people. You are my legacy."

Vegeta kissed Trunks forehead, before continuing, in a cracked voice:

"Protect you mother… she is really wonderful. Be a good man, a better man that I ever was. Don't let pride cloud your judgement, as I did many times. You can give human race a fighting chance. Be strong, my son."

She didn't have the heart to record anything else, so she quietly left the camera upon the table once more, and walked towards them: Vegeta and their son, the most important people in her life, the ones she loved more than anything else in the world. The prince turned in her direction as soon as he heard her footsteps, and kissed her once more. Then he handled the baby to Bulma, and kissed his forehead before walking away. It was painful to see him go, but she knew she couldn't hold him much longer. Instead, she told him the three words that meant so much for both of them:

"I love you."

"I know."

Tears cascaded from her blue eyes, a mixture of emotions overpowering her: sadness, fear, pain and above all love… She knew in her heart that she would never love another man like she loved Vegeta, and if he died to those machines she was doomed to a lifetime of loneliness and agony. Bulma was sobbing violently, but she felt a sudden urge to be tough and resolute. She wasn't weak and broken, she was Bulma fucking Briefs: brilliant, beautiful, and strong. It wasn't all lost just yet, there was still hope, no matter how little, and Bulma would be damned if she let fear get the best of her. The scientist wiped away the tears with her free hand, feeling more like herself afterwards. Vegeta was already walking away, but Bulma had something else to say. Before he was gone, she turned to him and cried:

"You better do your best, Vegeta, or so help me Kami you will have more to worry about than just some stupid androids! You will try to win this! You will make those fucking bastards suffer and regret the moment they decided to fight you… right?"

The tone of her voice left no doubt: it wasn't a question, nor a request, it was a demand. In a different lifetime that treatment would get them into an endless and meaningless quarrel, but not now. Now he understood how she felt: she needed reassurance, and he would give her that. He would give her anything he could, if only it would ease her pain and soothe her fears. The warrior paused and turned to face her with a distinctive smirk on his face before answering:

"Have I ever done any different, woman?"

Woman. The old familiar nickname pulled a string and she found herself smiling despite all the hopelessness of the situation. It didn't matter if the androids were so much stronger than Vegeta, it didn't matter whether it was a lost battle or not. In all his stubbornness, Vegeta wasn't a man to back down from a fight. He would do his best. He was going to fight not only for his life, but for her and their baby as well, and for earth. She knew for sure that Vegeta was about to give those androids a piece of his mind, and Kami knew they were not going to like it.

xX Aya Wolf Xx