HEY EVERYONE! This is the alternate (happy) ending to my fanfic Learning to Love. It sort of takes the place of chapter 16. If you haven't read that story, please please please don't read this, cuz then it'll ruin it all. I wrote this version because I was originally going to use it, but I thought it might be kinda clichéd, so I used a sad ending instead. Since people started bitching at me and saying they wanted something happy, I decided to post this alternate version. please R&R!
The alternate (happy) ending
"I can't believe she's going through with this", Chichi murmured, running her hands through the little boy's soft lavender hair.
"She made a decision. The best we can do is support her", 18 said sadly, handing Trunks his binky. The two friends were sitting anxiously on the floor outside of Bulma's room, waiting for her and playing with Trunks.
"You're going to get a new daddy", Chichi said to the baby.
"He's never met Vegeta", 18 reminded her.
"Maybe he - " Chichi lost her train of thought as the door opened and Bulma stepped out, followed by two hired make-up artists.
"You look gorgeous!" Chichi exclaimed, hoping to cheer her friend up.
"Yeah, you're probably the most beautiful bride ever", 18 added, holding Trunks in her arms.
"Bulma? You okay?" Chichi frowned. Bulma looked at her silently as a single tear slipped down her powered cheek. Her watery pink lips quivered slightly, but Bulma forced herself not to cry. After suffering for a year without Vegeta, she'd learned to shut out her emotions. This way, it didn't hurt as much.
"Miss, they're waiting for you", a young girl announced. Bulma nodded and walked down the stairs towards the door. Even through the thick wooden material, she could hear reporters talking and camera's flashing. The wedding was to take place in her very own front yard.
"I- I'd like to use the back door. I don't think I can handle all these people", she said weakly. Chichi nodded and turned around, followed by 18 who was wrapping Trunks in a blanket.
Bulma reached her backdoor first and pulled it open. Chichi went after her, followed by 18 and Trunks.
When Bulma suddenly froze, her friends believed she was simply nervous. But that wasn't it. Chichi stepped out from behind Bulma to see what happened and let out a gasp.
"It's about time you showed up!" 18 scoffed, shoving Trunks forward. The little boy squirmed in his blankets, looked up, and saw his father for the very first time.
Bulma felt her legs turn weak and she almost fell over at the sight of Vegeta. He was exactly the way she remembered him to be. Well, almost exactly.
He still had a familiar scowl and his hair stood up just as it did before, but there was a different aura that radiated from him.
"I think you guys need some time alone", Chichi said.
"I- You'll be late for you wedding", Vegeta looked at Bulma sadly. He honestly thought she wanted to be with Yamcha and decided that he wouldn't stop her.
"What? Why the hell did you show up if all you're going to do is make her feel worse?" 18 exploded. She couldn't stand seeing her friend in this condition and if Vegeta had not been holding his baby, she would have punched him.
"No, he's right. I'll be late", Bulma said softly. It seemed to her that Vegeta had moved on. She'd come this far without him, so she could go all the way, right? Bulma walked unsteadily towards the front year, trembling slightly. The wedding location was just around the corner and she could hear all the voices of the guests. Yamcha's guests. Bulma had not bothered to invite anyone since she didn't feel like this wedding was a celebration.
But, Vegeta obviously thought she was celebrating. Bulma remembered the sad look on his face and a thought popped into her head. What if it was all a misunderstanding? What if Vegeta still cared? If he didn't, why did he come back?
"Hey, why are you hiding?"
Bulma looked up to see Goku giving her a confused look.
"I can't do this".
"It's okay to be nervous. Yamcha seemed kind of nervous when he told me to go find you. Everyone's waiting, are you coming?" Goku asked, offering Bulma his arm. He was supposed to give her away since Bulma's own father was gone
"I'm not nervous. I just don't think this is right. I know it's not right. Why else would he show up today?"
"What are you talking about?" Goku asked, completely confused. He received no reply for he was now standing alone.
Bulma dashed back to the back yard of the house where she found Vegeta still in the same place, holding Trunks in his arms. As if on cue, he turned around in time to see Bulma rushing towards him, tears streaming down her face. He managed to shift Trunks onto one arm right before Bulma fell into his other arm with a big sob. No words were exchanged between them, but both knew exactly what was going on.
Vegeta pulled Bulma close to his chest and buried his face into her neck while still keeping a tight grip on his son. He realized then how much he missed this feeling.
The peaceful silence was broken when Goku finally figured out where Bulma had gone. He wasn't the least bit shocked to see Vegeta since he had always had a feeling the couple in front of him was a permanent one.
"Uh, Bulma? You do know that you're supposed to be married in a few minutes?"
"Why? What did he do to you?" Vegeta demanded, pulling away so he could look Bulma in the eye.
"He didn't do anything. Goku, I'm not going. But I do have to go apologize to the guests who came. I wasted their time and that's - "
"You can't. If that asshole finds out, he'll try to kill me, not that he can. But someone could get hurt", Vegeta interrupted.
"I'll go tell everyone. You guys should go inside", Goku suggested.
"No. Yamcha has keys to the house. We need to go somewhere else", Bulma said.
"I have an idea. Go get your girlfriend", Vegeta instructed Goku. Goku nodded and returned moments later with both Chichi and 18.
"Two girlfriends?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow. Apparently, his sense of humor had returned.
"So, what's your brilliant idea?" 18 asked sarcastically.
"Take care of him. Most importantly, keep him away from the asshole", Vegeta handed Trunks to Chichi.
"Why?" she asked, hugging the child to her chest.
"Because we", he motioned to Bulma and himself, "are taking a nice long vacation".
"Without another word, Vegeta led Bulma into the house, down the hall, and into the garage. They had gathered some food and clothes along the way and these items were now piled up in the backseat.
Vegeta started the car and drove off, not bothering to glance back. Bulma, however, took one last look at her house. It looked like Yamcha had just found out about Vegeta, for he looked absolutely furious. Bulma smiled guiltily at this, but she felt Yamcha deserved it.
"What's so funny?" Vegeta asked. Bulma shook her head and gave him a long hard stare. The mood suddenly became serious as Bulma started talking.
"Vegeta. We have a lot to talk about. A whole year of talking needs to be squeezed into a few… days".
"I know", he replied.
"Why did you leave?"
"I was…" Vegeta sighed and shook his head. He couldn't think of how to explain this. Why did he leave?
"Why didn't you come back?" Bulma asked again.
"I did", Vegeta stated flatly. Bulma fell silent at this. That part was her fault.
"Why did you show up today?"
"Because you were getting married. It was all over the news. How was I supposed to ignore it?"
"Then what were you planning on doing? Were you going to sit around and watch me get married?" Bulma asked.
"Well that obviously didn't happen, right?"
"But what if - "
"What? What else do you think I could do? Stop asking me these pointless questions", Vegeta sounded frustrated as he parked the car and climbed out. Bulma followed him silently, a pout on her face. They were back in the forest where the cabin stood. Vegeta unlocked the doors and went inside, not bothering to wait for Bulma. She shivered involuntarily before going in as well.
"Vegeta! Stop running from me! I thought we were going to talk!" Bulma yelled when she couldn't find Vegeta anymore.
"Fine. I talk. You listen", Vegeta appeared from behind Bulma and dragged her onto the bed. They sat across from each other, each holding a pillow in their lap.
"So, talk", Bulma said.
"Fine. I know you want an explanation for why I went away. I guess its too bad 'cause I don't even really know. But I do know I made a mistake, and it took me a year to figure it out. I guess it was almost too late, huh?"
"Too late for what?" Bulma asked, scrunching up her eyebrows.
"You were getting married. It's not like I could show up one day and you'd just automatically accept me again", Vegeta said with a humorless laugh.
"What?" Bulma spoke so softly, it was nothing more than a whisper. She found Vegeta's comment to be very ironic, for she knew that even if she had married Yamcha, she would have welcomed Vegeta with open arms any day.
"What do you mean, what?" Vegeta looked confused.
"I mean you have it all wrong. I don't like Yamcha. At all. And if you'd shown up a second after the wedding, I would have divorced him right away. I know I sound desperate, but it's true, you know?" Bulma admitted.
"You don't hate me?" Vegeta questioned.
"I do. I hate you a lot, Vegeta. I hate you for leaving me, and for hurting me, and for making me suffer. But I love you too. And I guess, in the end, I love you more than I hate you", Bulma shrugged. Vegeta looked at her awkwardly, unable to say anything. How were you supposed to respond to something like that? "What?" Bulma looked at him suspiciously. Maybe she'd confessed too much. Maybe he didn't like her this way. But, she didn't regret saying those words. She believed he should at least know how she felt.
"Honestly, I don't know how the hell to respond to that. It's like you prepared a speech just to make me feel guilty", Vegeta muttered.
"You know what? This isn't going anywhere. I meant everything I said, and I hope you meant everything you said. I don't want to talk about this anymore; it hurts too much. Couldn't we just… forget about it?" Bulma ended her sentence timidly. She thought a nice long talk would fix things between them, but it only made things worse.
"No more talking", Vegeta agreed. He hated having to talk, because he was never too good at it. He had trouble "expressing" himself and most of the time, he just messed things up when he talked.
"I really missed you", Bulma murmured after a while.
"What part of me?" Vegeta smirked. Bulma looked up with a grin at this question. Vegeta was back to his old self and she was glad of it. Things were definitely looking better and Bulma suddenly felt as if the past year had all been a dream. She felt Vegeta pull her into a hug and the girl smiled to herself. Maybe not a dream, more like a nightmare. But this, right now, was definitely a dream.
It felt like old times again as Vegeta brought Bulma outside to enjoy the forest. They stayed outdoors for the entire day, enjoying nature and the scenery. As the afternoon slowly slipped away and dusk approached, Vegeta took Bulma once more to the lake where they had been a year ago. Almost as if it was a habit, they sat next to each other on the soft grass and watched the sun set. Bulma leaned her head on Vegeta's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Was this what he had been missing out on for a whole year? Vegeta tightened his grip and Bulma snuggled closer, burying her head in his chest. She felt a wave of safety flow over her, followed by relaxation. But the feeling didn't last long. Once the sun disappeared, Vegeta stood up abruptly and grabbed Bulma's hand. She jumped up eagerly, wondering what else he had planned.
They rushed into the cabin and Vegeta kicked the door shut behind them. He slipped both arms around Bulma's waist and pressed her tightly against him. Instinctively, Bulma wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted a long, hungry kiss. She'd forgotten about this feeling and her legs gave away at the intense pleasure. Vegeta easily supported her weight and carried the girl into the bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed and then climbed on top of her, crushing her body with his weight. Bulma tilted her head back and moaned as Vegeta kissed her neck gently. She allowed Vegeta to pull of her shirt and did the same to him afterwards. They managed to undress each other between kisses and were soon back to their old routine.
As Bulma snuggled deep into the arms of Vegeta, she knew her heart had been placed in the hands of the right man.
A/N : aha XD at the really end, I was completely unable to think anymore… so I hoped I ended it well. I just wrote this for fun, and I hope everyone enjoys it. Please review!