Happy Birthday

by scoutergreen

oneshot. A bit of sweetness and angst.

When the alarm clock went off at seven o'clock, Vegeta was slow to rise from the bed he shared with his wife and took as much time as he wished in the shower. He washed his hair thoroughly, knowing it would be another four or five days before he did it again, and took a little time to dab a tiny amount of cologne behind his ears, on the inside of his wrists, and on his collarbone. He knew that Bulma loved it when he wore a bit of the fragrance she'd selected for him years prior- always gifting him with a new bottle every Christmas.

It seemed so fitting that he was almost through the bottle he'd received the Christmas prior. In a few more weeks, he would surely receive a new bottle.

Vegeta wasn't so sure what the fragrance was called, but it was subtle enough that it didn't make him sneeze or tear up (which was more than he could say about the body spray his daughter liked to wear) and wonderfully complex in its simplicity. He caught notes of amber, leather, lavender, cut grass, and tobacco, and as the alcohol evaporated and the scent mellowed into his skin he got dressed, opting for blue jeans, plain t-shirt, and a knit grey sweater on top. As he left the bedroom, Vegeta slid his feet into his sandals and then made his way downstairs.

"Look who's up! Good morning, sweetie!" Mrs. Briefs' voice wasn't as high-pitched as it had once been, but Vegeta's mother-in-law was a remarkably energetic ninety one year old woman. Still active and always cheerful, she continued to do what she loved albeit at a slower pace.

Vegeta noticed that she shuffled a little more these days, and her once ever-present two inch heels were very much a thing of the past. She was tinier and lighter than she'd been when he'd first met her thirty years prior, her big bleach blonde bouffant had turned into a head of silver curls that grew wispier with each year, and her ivory skin had become more transparent and thinner with age. When she went into the garden to cut flowers, she was careful getting on her knees and slower to rise to her feet.

Vegeta caught the smell of something wonderful baking in the oven and figured she must have been preparing breakfast at that very moment.

Mrs. Briefs went to pour Vegeta a cup of coffee, but the Saiyan beat her to the percolator and poured two mugs of coffee.

"Oh, my, you're always so quick on your feet..." Mrs. Briefs happily accepted a mug of coffee with a chuckle, "come and sit with me, sweetheart."

"Sure," Vegeta pulled out her chair before turning back to get some cream out of the refrigerator.

Vegeta was stirring his coffee when he noticed his mother-in-law beaming at him. He looked up and raised a brow before taking a sip of coffee, finally at a point in his life where he found it easier to communicate with a look than with words.

"So, how does it feel to be a year older?" Mrs. Briefs' smile didn't fade.

Vegeta remembered that it was his birthday. The tenth day of November was the date he'd settled on many years prior when Bulma had calculated his birthday based on the position of the stars. After another moment, Vegeta realized he sixty four years old.

"About the same as I did this time last year," Vegeta's mouth turned up in a familiar lopsided smile, "although I think I might have another grey hair, and that makes about five..."

A few weeks earlier, Vegeta had mentioned the grey hair to his wife, expecting her to laugh. Instead, Bulma had started crying, asking Vegeta why he remained with an "old woman like her" and lamenting that she was losing her looks. She cried that Vegeta looked "too young" for her and it felt like a punch in the gut. Without thinking, Vegeta had scooped his wife into his arms and held her as she sobbed into the crook of his neck and soaked his shirt collar with her tears.

Mrs. Briefs laughed and stood up in time for the oven to beep. She shuffled over to the oven door, pulled on her oven mitts, and slowly removed the cast iron skillet. When Vegeta rose from his seat to go help her, she clicked her tongue and told him to sit down.

"I can still carry this pan, don't worry about me! There's still some fight left in these bones!"

Vegeta grumbled and watched as she brought the pan over to the stone plate in the centre of the table. It appeared to be some sort of savoury take on French toast: he could spot plenty ham and cheese in between thick slices of eggy bread.

Over bites of his breakfast (which turned out to be very good indeed) Vegeta found out that Bulma was working a half day at Capsule Corp's downtown headquarters. She no longer worked sixty hour weeks, let alone forty hour weeks, and this pleased Vegeta. The more his wife was around, the more secure he felt. After the sudden passing of his father-in-law three years prior, Vegeta had come to live with the uncomfortable realization that many of the humans he'd allowed into his life would get old and die before he even had a head full of grey hair. Deep down, Vegeta worried that his wife would simply not wake up one day.

"Bulla's coming over with her boyfriend tonight... she went out for the day bright and early to meet him at the train station... oh, what's his name again? Do you remember, honey?"

"Archer... the pretentious punk..."

When Mrs. Briefs chuckled, Vegeta's lopsided smirk returned. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of his twenty two year old daughter's boyfriend; he was some sort of writer who specialized in "think pieces" and never ate meat, but they had been together for three years and as long as Bulla was happy, Vegeta would stay out of it.

"I heard from Trunks and Goten last night..." Mrs. Briefs took another sip of coffee.

"Oh yeah, they've gone on vacation again?"

Vegeta couldn't believe his son was in his early thirties and in a committed relationship with Kakarot's kid. They had been "officially" together for close to a decade at that point although Vegeta suspected they had become partners in their late teen years. The idea of his only son getting into a relationship with the offspring of a lower class Saiyan had bothered him at first, but he had come around to the idea when both young men agreed to spar the elder Saiyan and proved they worked together as a team. After that, Vegeta had accepted that Trunks had chosen Goten as a partner, although the idea of Kakarot's family becoming intertwined with his own still sometimes felt overwhelming.

"Mmhm," Mrs. Briefs smiled, "they're visiting Stonehenge today! Trunks said he'll be in touch with you soon, so do keep your phone on you today, dear..."

"Will do," Vegeta found himself rolling his eyes, "although I could honestly just fly over there and ki-"

"Now now, let the boys enjoy their vacation! You should relax today!"

"Not the relaxing type," Vegeta took another sip of coffee, "you know that..."

"If you don't want to relax, how about you accompany me to the grocery store? A nice strong set of hands would be a big help," Mrs. Briefs smile grew a bit brighter and she reached across the table to pat her son-in-law's thick warm hand.

Vegeta took his mother-in-law's hand in between his palms and gave it a very gentle squeeze. Her fingers were cool and her skin felt like tissue paper. Underneath skin and veins, her bones felt weightless. It would be at least another century before Vegeta's hands took on those qualities, and everybody he knew and cared for would be long gone. It was an absolutely terrifying prospect.

But on his sixty fourth birthday, Vegeta made the choice to push his worries for the future aside and he agreed to accompany Mrs. Briefs to the grocery store.

"Just let me get my keys and my wallet, and we can go."