Twice Upon a Time
Summary- All Vegeta wants to do is fall asleep and wake up to see his dead wife, Bulma, in the Otherworld. Instead, Vegeta wakes up rejuvenated over thirty years in the past to find that he's been given a second chance.
Disclaimer- Dragon Ball Z is owned by Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation
AN- If anyone has not noticed, chapter 1 of the spin-off has been posted. The story is called Reconstruction. It is going to be somewhat darker than this story, but still will have B/V goodness. Chapter 1 begins before Trunks ventured out with the time machine.
Chapter 24-
"We've got to get that android out of the house!" Bulma declared, hands on her hips.
Vegeta lowered his book on ancient swords (he wanted to be the know-all for Trunks when he took an interest) with a raised eyebrow.
"I just went down to the lab to grab my notes on the new indoor gravity chamber and discovered Eighteen on top of Krillin," she continued.
"So?"
"So! She was trying to seduce him so she could get the remote!"
He shut the paperback book. "And. . . Isn't that what w-you wanted? To get them all hot and bothered?"
She sighed. "You are missing the point! First off, I really don't want them doing indecent things down in the laboratory. Second-"
He gave her his half-smirk. "We've done far worse down in that lab, remember?"
Blushing, she averted her eyes. "What if I take Trunks down there and walk into something? I think we could convince them to vacate and go to Kame House."
"Good. Take care of it." He picked up his book and flipped to the page he'd marked.
Irritated, she shook her head. "Grrr, why is this all on me? You started this mess to begin with."
Without looking up, he said, "Think about it. You really want me to handle this my way?"
Bulma paused. "Okay, good point."
Master Roshi was thrilled to hear that a pretty girl, machinery or not, would come to stay on the island. He practically panted over the phone, and Bulma actually felt a little sorry for Android 18. When she introduced the idea to Krillin he was actually pretty receptive. He scratched his head and looked down nervously or embarrassed, but agreed that Android 18 needed to get out of Capsule Corporation.
"And, you'll have the remote. If she tries anything just press the red button," Bulma said.
"Yeah, about that. . . Uh, I kinda destroyed it."
"What!" Bulma shrieked, eyes wide, panicked. There was nothing keeping the android at bay. She glanced around, as if the android would appear around the corner of the kitchen at any moment ready to spring into attack.
Krillin played with his thumbs. "Well, we were wrestling . . ." He looked up. "Over the remote," he quickly clarified. "I almost bumped the button by accident. I – I smashed it to show her that she could trust me. She's just so sad and I feel sorry for her. I wanted her to believe that I wasn't an enemy out to get her. Plus, she's . . ." He coughed.
So pretty, Bulma internally finished.
"Do you want me to make another one?" Bulma asked.
He shook his head. "Naw, don't bother. That would defeat the purpose of my breaking it."
"Are you sure you can manage her?" It was a stupid question. She knew that if Android 18 wanted to get loose she probably would. She also knew that her husband could hunt her down and take her out in one blow.
"She has nowhere else to go. I think she'll like the island instead of being cooped up here."
Bulma caught a pair of slanted eyes peek around the corner of the kitchen, but the look was not in the slightest bit homicidal. Instead, she seemed shocked and confused. When Android 18 spotted Bulma, she ducked out of sight.
So, Android 18 left with Krillin. Her last few facial expressions before leaving were murderous but she made no move to act upon her feelings. Krillin grabbed her arm and she jumped.
"Hold on and we'll fly," Krillin said.
She snatched her arm back, even blushing. "I can fly on my own!"
"Oh, right."
When they left, Bulma wondered if they really would get married and have a child like Vegeta insisted was their fate. It was too incredulous to think about. But then again . . . She glanced over at Vegeta who held baby Trunks out with a scrunched up nose. A normal human woman ending up with a bloodthirsty alien prince was just as incredulous, maybe more so. Definitely more so, given that he was from the future to boot.
Bulma went to his rescue and took Trunks for his diaper change.
Days passed. Vegeta grew antsy for what he called The Cell Games. Surprising, his time was not entirely spent in the gravity chamber, but also with her. She could tell that he was frustrated about her inability to have sex until she received the doctor's approval. She tried to show intimacy in other ways, touching him and helping release his tension. As time grew closer, instead of locking himself away in the GR to pack in as much training as possible, he turned to her instead.
He held her naked against him, silent. They'd just finished making out, in which she gave him a really good oral session. In return, he fingered her in the places that were safe without going too deep. They cuddled and Bulma would have been at peace if the bond they shared hadn't given away that he was unsettled mentally.
She rose onto her right elbow and reached out with her left hand to comb his disheveled hair up. "Are you okay, hun?" It was the first time she'd used the endearment and was nervous when he froze but then he relaxed.
"Course I am," he lied.
"You're going to beat this Super Improved Cell. Because you are my Prince of All Saiyans. There is nothing that can stand in your way. Not even death."
He rolled them over, straddling her, pinning her arms above her head. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Think that highly of me, do you?"
She grinned. "You're amazing. The best of the best. The prince of all princes. The rice to the soy sauce."
"I don't use soy sauce."
"But I do," she breathed out as he bent down to launch onto a nipple.
Vegeta's new erection pushed against her thigh and her grin turned evil. He was going to need help again. She reached down to take care of it.
The next morning, Mrs. Brief fixed them a larger meal than even that for a Saiyan family. Bulma finished first, but Vegeta and Future Trunks kept going strong, digging into the eggs with a flourish. She fetched baby Trunks and heated a bottle of breast-milk to feed him as well. She settled back down at the table, cradling her baby and watching the father and her older son gobble away. She noticed that Trunks was a bit slower, taking time to actually enjoy the food. She glanced down at baby Trunks and smiled. That's right, she thought, I taught you to chew.
Trunks cleaned his plate and set down the silverware. He looked intently over at Vegeta.
"What is it, boy?" Vegeta swallowed his mug of coffee.
"Father, I want to be ready for this battle. Tell me everything you know about Cell."
The prince leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Cell is made up of the greatest warriors: Me, you, Kakarot, Piccolo, Tien, and Vegeta Jr., my future great-grandson. Your daughter's son. Hedoro should have included Gohan in the bunch, but he must have somehow not clued in on his potential. Don't be surprised to have your friends' attacks used, or even your own. But that isn't the main concern. It's the Yakumi aliens. I think Hedoro called them Ketchup and Mustard."
Trunks leaned back and crossed his arms as well. Bulma smiled at the mirror image. Like father like son.
"What are the Yakumi?" Trunks asked.
"An ancient race of aliens form the planet Yakum. I was sent there on a mission from Frieza to purge the Yakumi," Vegeta said.
Bulma took the bottle out of baby Trunks' mouth and proceeded to burp him over her shoulder. She watched Vegeta closely, but he seemed closed off, pushing his emotions down. The topic seemed to catch her unexpectedly because she forgot anymore how vicious he had been. He'd changed so much, so drastically at once.
"The Yakumi are just as warrior-like as the Saiyans. They are very strong, but also strong-willed. They have the ability to communicate telepathically with one another. They also have the capability of joining essences after death."
Trunks stared. "Essences after death? What do you mean?"
"When a Yakumi dies, everything that made that Yakumi what it was passes on to another member of their race. They are made of generations of ancestors, taking in their abilities and memories. There is no limit to their power."
The expression on Trunks grew troubled. He uncrossed his arms and held the table. Bulma wanted to reach out and comfort him but knew this was warrior business and shouldn't interfere. She settled for nestling baby Trunks against her chest.
Bulma did not ask the question she wanted to ask. Trunks beat her to it.
"Did you purge the planet?"
Vegeta hardened his eyes. "No."
There was a long span of silence. Bulma felt her heart clench. She remembered the moment of worry that passed over him the night before during their intimacy. He'd been thinking too hard and she wondered if it'd been about this Yakumi ordeal. He hadn't beaten the Yakumi before, and some part of him doubted whether he could now. There was no way he would verbalize it, but she knew.
She stood up to put Trunks down for his nap. She stood over the crib and took her time before exiting the room. She breathed in heavily.
There wasn't much that made the Prince of All Saiyans doubt himself. She hugged her arms and wished there was a current guardian to pray to.
AN- I didn't really know where I was going until I remembered that Goku goes to Namek to ask Dende to be the next guardian. While he is there, why not use the dragon balls? Yep, that's right. I'm thinking Vegeta and Trunks should hitch a ride to bring back the other Vegeta.