"No Matter What They Say"

A/N: For all of our cruel amusement, here's a Vegeta fic.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters.

Chapter 1: Past

Vegeta's POV:

I find that I've been asking myself this quite a bit lately:

What would have happened if Frieza had never existed?

Would I have ever gone to earth and settled myself there? This question has loomed in the back of my mind for countless years now. If someone would have told me that the crazy, loud, babbling woman, Bulma would be my wife, I would have killed them on the spot thinking that I was just putting another lunatic out of his misery.

Now when I think this, I figured that it might not have been fate that brought me to earth. I remember cursing Frieza every day for blowing up my planet. What would have happened if I had been able to take the thrown after my father. Would I have ever known what people call love?

Sometimes when I think these things, I wonder if I would have been better off ruling the planet after my father, or maybe it was for the best that it was destroyed. I would've never known the joy of having children with a woman that I actually loved. I may have gotten a chance to have children on Vegeta-sei, but because I wasn't aloud to love, would it have been worth it?

"Hey, dad. What's up?" Trunks asked looking across the dinner table at his father.

'That damn kid ripping me from my deep thoughts as usual' I cursed in my mind.

"Nothing, why?" I asked bitterly.

No reason, I guess you just looked kinda, I dunno, deep in thought or something." Trunks said as he looked back down at his plate of food.

"If I looked like I was deep in thought, don't you think I would want to stay there?" I commented angrily.

"Vegeta, he was just worried that there was something wrong. Why are you so testy tonight?" Bulma said defending her son. "Besides, he's only thirteen, is it ok for him to make a few mistakes every now and then?"

I decided not to answer her. I knew very well that arguing with the woman was futile. There was nothing I could do except for sit silently eating my food. She obviously didn't realize that I was pondering important things, otherwise she may have been more understanding. But I decided not to mention this either, I knew if I did, she would make me tell her what I was pondering, and I wasn't about to tell her.

In the past when I hadn't been aware of the emotional effect it would have on her, I would tell her when she asked what I was thinking, but it seemed the subject brought her to tears. She claimed that she didn't like the thought of never knowing me, she didn't think she could stand living if that had been the case.

I had often wondered if that was the case. I also had disturbing thoughts of what she might be truly thinking when I talk about things like 'what if Frieza had never come and I never came to earth'. Once I even thought the real reason was because she couldn't bare the thought of me in bed with another woman and having her bare my children. I never asked her this, however.

When she cried, it ripped my heart out. Whenever she did cry, I thought it was something I said or did, and often times that is the case. Those times are the times that I wish I could just rip my arm off for hurting her. These are the times that I truly know that I am in love with the woman. I realize this because, on Vegeta-sei, the men would torture women into tears for a mere sport. I had always liked these things, but whenever I made Bulma cry, it was as though someone had stabbed me with a dagger right my heart.

"May I take your plate, father?" Trunks asked Vegeta not looking at him. I had been thinking all through dinner and now Trunks was clearing. 'Oh well, I wasn't hungry anyway' I thought to myself moving back to let Trunks take my plate.

"I'm going to go put Bra to bed, Vegeta. Can you help Trunks with the dishes?" Bulma asked picking Bra up out of her high chair.

"The brat can do it himself." I said getting up from the table and walking off towards the GR.

"Vegeta! Where are you going, you need to help Trunks with the dishes!" Bulma yelled.

"I'm no maid." I said waving my hand carelessly. Bulma looked daggers at my receding back and went upstairs to put Bra to bed.

*fin

~S saiyan Vegeta4013