Just a quick A/N: I haven't written anything DBZ in about 6 years, I think, but I am returning to the fandom! As I have done with my Lucius/Narcissa pairing for Harry Potter I am going to be working on a Fanfic100 challenge for Bulma/Vegeta. Check out my livejournal under the same name as my ff name for the whole table! This will be the first one uploaded under 027. Parents.
Enjoy!
This isn't good. This isn't good... Bulma sighed as she tossed the test in the garbage. Of course, those tests could be faulty; she had taken the same one the previous day and it came out negative. She would need to schedule an appointment at the doctor to see which of the tests was accurate.
A baby at her age? No way. She was taking birth control and everything. It just couldn't be possible...
She worked for a few hours in her office, fighting hard to resist the temptation to smoke, before the matter was weighing too heavily on her mind to get anything else done. Thankfully she had no appointments in the early afternoon. She would have to pick up Trunks from school at 2:30 and then had a 3:30 meeting before she was done for the day. Well, there was always the work in the lab and garage that were never done, but she just was not in the mood to get any of that taken care of. Abandoning her office, she grabbed her purse and keys from her bedroom and headed downstairs.
Her mother was in the kitchen as usual, cooking when she wasn't on vacation with Bulma's father. They had taken to traveling quite a lot lately, picking up far too many knicknacks for Trunks in Bulma's opinion. The whole room smelled like delicious Chinese food, though Bulma didn't feel like eating a bite. Vegeta had probably already gotten the signal to stop training from the aroma of the food. (She was quite amazed at how well Saiyan noses could detect mealtime, even through steel and concrete...) Chinese was his favorite, after all. Bulma's mother noticed her presence in the room and stopped chopping up scallions.
"My darling girl, where are you off to?" Mrs. Brief asked in her high, sweet voice.
"I have to go run some errands. I'll be back soon," she replied, fiddling with her keys. "When you see Vegeta could you tell him that please?"
"You should have made him run your errands for you, Precious," Mrs. Briefs said with a laugh. "I convinced him to run to the market to get eggs for me."
Bulma almost faceplanted in sheer surprise. "How the hell did you get him to do that? I've been married to him for almost ten years and he's never done anything like that for me!"
Mrs. Briefs held up a recipe card. "You can't make egg rolls without eggs. You know how much Vegeta loves egg rolls."
"I can't believe it," Bulma muttered as she left the kitchen. As she crossed the entryway heading for the garage, Vegeta was just getting back with enough eggs to make omelettes for an army.
"Where are you going?" he asked abruptly. "You're certainly not dressed for a meeting."
It was true. It was one of those rare occasions that she was leaving the house in anything but a business suit or something incredibly fashionable; she had instead opted on wearing jeans and a zip-up Capsule Corporation sweatshirt. It looked much more like something her eleven-year-old would wear than she ever would leaving the house. She was hardly wearing any makeup and had even neglected to put on her favorite perfume. "I'm going to the doctor for a simple checkup."
Vegeta set the multiple cartons of eggs down gently on the floor and then approached his wife. He leaned in close to her and sniffed her neck. Bulma thought this was a little strange, but after living with him for fifteen years it really didn't surprise her. "Your chemistry has changed," he said simply.
"What does that mean?" she asked but he merely shrugged.
"Not sure. Maybe it's menopause," he stated as he picked up the bags from the store. "Could that be a possibility?"
"I don't think so," she replied with the shadow of a smirk. She gave him a peck on the cheek and headed for the garage.
As she drove the traffic seemed to get worse and worse. With the increase of traffic came an increase in stress. With the increase of stress came an increase of her wanting to smoke. No... she thought. If I am pregnant then I need to quit this right now. If I'm not then I am going to smoke the entire pack on the way home. She knew just how bad it was for her and how much her husband and son hated it but they were keeping her slim and relaxed at least. With a husband with a perfect physique it was always a struggle to keep herself trim. She didn't have all the time in the world to go to yoga or the desire to eat nothing but salads. It was a pitiful excuse but she clung to it. She exhaled deeply and made a decision; kick the habit right now! She rolled down the window and threw the pack out the window... hitting a cop car as she did so. She swore a string of swears so seamlessly that her husband would have been proud as the lights kicked in and signaled for her to pull over. She rested her head against the steering wheel as she waited for the officer to approach her.
"License and registration," the officer asked, his eyes fixated on his clipboard. "Do you know that it is illegal to litter?"
"Yes," she mumbled as she pulled her license card from her wallet. The police officer took one look at the card and almost dropped it. Yes, he knew who she was.
"Mrs. Brief... I'm sorry but I can't let you get out of this without a ticket. Littering is against the law, even if you are trying to kick the habit," he said kindly and handed her the ticket. She took it sheepishly and continued on her way down the busy freeway. What a mess...
As she drove, she began to think deeply about the possibility of being pregnant. It scared her to think of how Vegeta and Trunks would react. Vegeta was perfectly content with just having Trunks and Trunks had spent so long as an only child that she had no idea how he would react. She assumed that Vegeta would warm up to the idea eventually; he had been so incredibly shocked when she found out she was going to have Trunks but that was under completely different circumstances. She was currently on birth control, though, so it would still be a large surprise. She felt a little bit guilty for not telling him exactly what the appointment was for. Because of his comment in the entryway he probably already knew, even if he didn't say so outright. He told her later on that he knew she was pregnant with Trunks before she told him but had been in denial about it. When she finally parked at the doctor's office, she leaned back in her seat and pulled her phone out of her pocket.
"Brief residence," Bulma's mom answered the telephone.
"Mom. I need to talk to Vegeta. Is he around?" she asked, one hand massaging her brow.
"He's just sitting down to eat. Hold on," her mother replied. Wonderful... he wasn't going to want to leave if there was food on the table.
"Yes?" her husband's stern voice came over the phone.
"Vegeta. I really need you," she said. It was a little bit bold for her to say even though she was his wife just because of the circumstances. He was sitting in their kitchen and she was in her car, miles away.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "Did something happen?"
"No, I'm just scared to go to the doctor by myself. I really don't want to talk about it over the phone. Can you come here with me, please?" she begged. There was another incredibly long pause and she had to check the screen to make sure the call wasn't dropped. She could still hear her mother moving stuff around the kitchen, though, so she knew for a fact that he was still there. Perhaps he had picked up on what she was freaking out about.
"Where are you? I can be there quickly if you want. I'm not driving, though," he said very slowly and reluctantly. He didn't want to leave lunch but at least he knew how serious she was about this.
Vegeta arrived less than five minutes after she had initially called him. It was good to be married to a Saiyan sometimes. She got out of the car and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He was incredibly uncomfortable with this public display but wrapped his arms around her anyway. She held on to him for a long time before letting go to face him. "Thanks so much for coming with me. I think you know what's up."
"Yeah," he replied, crossing his arms. He didn't say anything else on the matter but nudged her toward the door. "Might as well get it over with. We could be wrong, though I doubt it."
He really was sure. She locked the car and caught up to him, tucking her arm in his while they walked. Vegeta really disliked Earth doctors; he thought their methods were completely outdated. After spending your life with the technology he had been around, with regeneration tanks full of synthetic DNA, it was somewhat understandable. Regardless, he sat with her in the waiting room as she filled out paperwork, waited impatiently in the hall while she had a multitude of tests done, and listened as the doctor asked her a whole bunch of ridiculous questions about her sexual history. The doctor then left the two of them in his office unaccompanied. She still looked nervous as he watched her, but she also seemed more resolute. If she was going to have a baby, so be it. About five minutes passed by before the doctor returned, a manilla folder in hand.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Brief," she begun, pushing her glasses up her nose and opening the folder. "It looks like your test was correct. I would say you are about one month pregnant. Congratulations!"
Bulma gave Vegeta a nervous smile and he squeezed her hand reassuringly. Neither of them were jumping out of their seats in excitement but they were at least content. The drive home was quiet; Vegeta volunteered to take the wheel for Bulma and they left the radio off. Bulma was very hopeful about this child; now that Vegeta knew and was okay with the idea (not that he had any choice in the matter anyway). She was actually getting quite excited. There was a possibility that she would have the beautiful daughter that she had always wanted. She would be perfectly fine with another son too, though. There was still the hurdle of having to tell Trunks but she wasn't worried. He was an intelligent kid, albeit spoiled, and he had asked a long time ago if he would ever have a brother like Goten had. They were a nice family of three that would soon be a nice family of four. She looked over at Vegeta and bit her lip. If it was a boy they would certainly have another rowdy, fighting Saiyan to train all hours of the day. Hopefully it was a girl. She crossed her fingers.
When they returned to Capsule Corporation, they were surprised to see Son Goku sitting at their table, eating astonishing amounts of Chinese food and conversing with Bulma's mother.
"Hey!" he called after swallowing a large bite of orange chicken. "Good timing!"
Vegeta's eyebrow twitched although he held in any remarks he had. Bulma walked over and gave him a hug. "Good timing for what?"
"I was about to take off," Goku said, though from the looks of his plate it was a bit of a fib. "You guys sure were gone a long time."
"We had business to take care of," Vegeta said in a low but civil voice. "What brings you here, Kakarott?"
"Chi Chi sent me over to bring Bulma some seeds for her garden and to invite you two and Trunks over for a barbeque tomorrow night," Goku replied as he returned to his food. "It's been a while since we all got together."
"Too true. I miss seeing everyone," Bulma agreed, setting her arms akimbo. "You can count on us to be there."
Vegeta sighed and leaned up against the door pane between the kitchen and living room. It was then that he spied a bowl of egg rolls on the table. With the speed of a Super Saiyan he grabbed them and regained his spot at the doorway. Bulma looked back at him and rolled her eyes. Goku scarfed down the last of the food on his plate and stood. "Well, I better get home. Thanks for the food, Mrs. Brief. I'll see you both tomorrow." And with that, he was gone.
"How are we going to tell Trunks?" Bulma asked. The two of them called conference in their bedroom before Bulma left to pick up Trunks from school. "He should know before we tell everyone at the party tomorrow."
Vegeta nodded. "We should just tell him. If we don't make a big deal out of it then he won't."
"I disagree with that," Bulma said as she flopped down onto the bed. "He's been an only child for almost twelve years. It'll be a little difficult to deal with when he learns that there's going to be another child stealing our affections."
"Stealing our affections?" Vegeta repeated.
"Yes. It is a big deal when you have your parents all to yourself and then all of a sudden there's another kid in the picture," she reasoned.
Vegeta sighed and laid down next to Bulma. "Look at Kakarott's kids. They get along just fine. When his woman found out she was expecting the eldest one was helpful. Mind you, he and Trunks have completely different dispositions but the two of them get along great. Don't jump to conclusions."
"And besides," he said with a smirk. "I can always beat Trunks into submission."
"Vegeta!" Bulma exclaimed, appalled. "Don't even joke around like that!" She smacked him lightly on the arm. "We'll tell him over dinner and if he has any issues with it he will just have to deal with it."
"Sounds grand. Now, you should go pick up the brat. He got out of school ten minutes ago," he remarked and Bulma nearly flew out the door.
Bulma returned from her meeting, once again donning a business suit and wearing her usual makeup. It appeared to have been a successful meeting because she looked quite happy. Vegeta and Trunks were training, giving her time to make dinner. Dr. and Mrs. Brief had taken off for the travel agency before she left for the meeting and likely wouldn't be back for several hours; they very much enjoyed a particular Thai restaurant in South City. As she cooked she realized that the child she was carrying would have the same appetite as the two Saiyans she already had. That would be a lot of food to have to cook every day, but really... what was one more Saiyan anyway?
A lot of food... that's what it would be.
The boys came in from training just as Bulma was getting the table set for dinner. They were bickering about nonsense things as they usually did. Trunks always asked a lot of questions about everything and Vegeta hated answering anyone's questions. He was pretty patient with the boy in relative terms. When she was pregnant with Trunks and Vegeta took off for weeks on end to train she wondered how it was going to work but somehow everything fell into place.
Another twenty minutes and the three of them were peacefully eating dinner together. Bulma would occasionally send looks at Vegeta, but he was rather absorbed in eating. She would have much preferred they feel out the moment together but as she began to get impatient waiting she decided to take the step herself.
"Trunks, your father and I have some important news," Bulma announced. Trunks paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. Vegeta took a drink of his wine before sitting quietly and waiting for Bulma to continue. "We are going to be having a child."
Trunks set his fork down on his plate and his parents watched with held breath for a reaction. He raised an eyebrow quizzically and gave a small chuckle. "You're not serious."
"Why wouldn't we be serious?" Vegeta asked as he took another drink. "Why would we joke about something like this?"
"I don't know," he replied, now pushing the food around his plate with his fork. "It seems pretty out of the blue is all."
"Oh believe me, Honey, it's pretty sudden for us too," Bulma said, reaching out and grabbing her son's hand. "We didn't plan this but we are still very happy about it. How do you feel?"
Trunks waited for a while before responding, "Okay, I guess." He then changed manners completely, becoming very excited. "Am I going to have a brother?"
"We're not sure just yet. It's still too early to tell," she answered. "We will love him or her just the same whether you have a brother or sister." All of these words seemed very foreign in her mouth. It still didn't seem completely real just yet. Her and Vegeta having another baby? No wonder Trunks was so surprised; she still didn't completely believe it.
"Wait till I tell Goten! I'll have someone to boss around just like Gohan did to him! Of course he'll be like a little brother to Goten too so it's like going full circle!" Trunks exclaimed happily. "My own little brother to do my bidding."
Trunks leaned back in his chair, gaining a look that reminded Bulma very much of Vegeta when he was up to no good. Vegeta chuckled and Bulma sighed. "Trunks, that's not okay to say. This is your sibling, not your minion," Bulma said sternly. "And like I said, it may be a girl for all we know."
Trunks ignored this and jumped out of his chair. "I'm going to go call Goten!"
"You were not excused from the table," Vegeta called after him, but honestly expected no return. He finished his glass of wine and turned his eyes to Bulma. "Was that better than you expected?"
"I suppose," Bulma said and leaned back in her chair. "This is going to be an interesting experience."
By the time they got to the barbeque the next evening, everyone knew that Bulma and Vegeta were expecting. Goku came bounding out of the house and gave Vegeta a bone-crushing hug; Vegeta was less than thrilled about this. Chi Chi squealed and did the same to Bulma with a much better reception. Because of their usual tendecy to show up late, the entire gang was already relaxing in lawn chairs, discussing the news and congratulating the family. Vegeta's cheeks were tinged pink with frustration but Bulma laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let it bother you. They're excited is all."
"This has turned into a... a...." he searched for the word.
"A celebration?" she asked, setting her hands on her hips. "Lighten up a little, Vegeta. They're not being condescending or anything. Everyone wants to share in the joy with us."
He crossed his arms and stood straight. "Fine. I'll try and pretend that it doesn't annoy me that everyone is acting like morons."
"I guess that's all I can ask for," she replied at last. He uncrossed his arms and took her hand in his. Though he hadn't said it she knew that he was excited to have another child on the way.