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- Someone (I forget who, sorry) asked why Vegeta placed Bulma in a freeze pod, because she would return anyway. I had him do this because they did this in DBZ. Remember, Bulma placed Krillin in a freeze pod. It was explained that people come back to life where their body is. That is why Goku had to run across Snake Way to get back to Earth. So, if Vegeta didn't place Bulma in a freezer, where would he put her body? In the ground? Then she would come back in the ground. So not cool.
Chapter 35-
The woman shut herself away in the basement and Vegeta tried to forget she was there, but that ended up being impossible. Even when he exhausted himself in the gravity room, she roamed in the back of his mind. He couldn't wait for that blasted bracelet to finally be fixed so she could go back to where she belonged. Of course, it seemed to take longer than expected. Bulma always had a knack for taking her sweet time.
You want it done right, right? his Bulma once told him with a jab in the chest and a smirk, referring to a GR upgrade.
Yes, he wanted the bracelet fixed correctly, but Vegeta was never a patient man. Not to mention, the longer this Bulma stayed, the harder it was for Vegeta to ignore the void of her not being his Bulma. He wondered if things would have been simpler if he'd never surrendered to this marital sentimental rubbish. Simpler, he concluded, but not satisfying.
Vegeta slammed his fist into a flying droid. The metal crushed against his hand and left his skin flawless, not even a scratch. He remembered when life consisted of nothing but training, and here he was, locked away in his favorite place, not able to stop thinking of Bulma. It was annoying. She made his life worth living and ruined it simultaneously.
He walked over to the control panel and shut down the gravity. The G's fell and his body felt light, with the glorious left-over ache of wellness, strength, and improvement. Vegeta grabbed a white towel and rubbed the sweat from his forehead, neck, and arms. He planned on downing two water bottles from the fridge and then paying Future Bulma a visit. She really needed to hurry this up. Who knows what Hedoro was up to in the meantime.
He ran into Mrs. Brief in the kitchen. He noticed that the blond woman was in need of a fresh hair-dye from her gray roots. She bounced baby Trunks up and down in her arms and the baby laughed in return. Mrs. Brief eyed Vegeta as he emptied the Aquafina bottle. She held out Trunks.
"Say hi to Daddy, Trunks. He works so hard, don't you think?" She made Trunks reach out his hand toward Vegeta.
Rolling his eyes, Vegeta frowned. She was worse than the brat's mother. He gently pushed Trunks' chubby hand away. "I don't have time for this," he declared.
"Oh, of course," Mrs. Brief said. "You are such a busy man. I'll just take Trunks with me into the atrium."
The middle-aged woman turned around, taking Trunks to go see the animals and plants. Just before they were out of sight, Vegeta caught Trunks stretch out his arm toward him with longing, this time by his own accord. He sighed. The boy was much too attached to him now. He made a note to at least pick his son up before bedtime.
Vegeta gulped down another Aquafina and then made his way down into the laboratory. He expected to find Bulma either engrossed in her work or fast asleep with her head down. Instead, she was nowhere near the worktable. His eyes scanned the room and sensed her ki in the corner.
It took a moment for him to take in what she was doing. Future Bulma leaned over the freeze pod which held his wife. She examined the freezer's contents like it was an interesting specimen. He didn't like it. For some reason he didn't want anyone to look at Bulma's body but him. He didn't even take her parents down, telling them that there was no point because she would return soon.
"What are you doing?" he accused.
Bulma's head shot to the side and she seemed a little ashamed. Vegeta's jaw clenched. Bulma straightened and tucked her blue shoulder-length hair behind her ears. "N-Nothing much," she said as if she were trying to make things sound casual- as if she were caught snooping at photographs instead of a dead body.
Vegeta stomped over to the pod and pushed Bulma out of the way. He took one glance into the freezer pod, taking in the lifeless form of his Bulma. Her eyelids were closed, her skin white, and her hands were folded across her middle. Still. Vacant. Perfect, but dead. He quickly pressed the controls to turn the temperature all the way down again. He turned, his eyes dark. "I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own business," he said.
Future Bulma looked at him with spirited and inquisitive eyes. It unnerved him how alive she was while his Bulma remained a corpse only a mere foot away. He really needed this Bulma to leave him in peace.
"How is the bracelet coming?" Vegeta asked.
Bulma kept her attention on him, her eyes concerned. "Vegeta . . . Maybe you should talk about it. I think it might help . . ."
He scoffed at that. It was not her place to counsel him on losing his wife twice. . . three times if you counted Buu. This was a personal matter that he would deal with by himself. If she wanted to help, she could hurry up and fix the bracelet so she could leave and he could enact his revenge.
"Like I said, woman, mind your own business. How is the bracelet coming?"
She frowned. "I'm making progress. A day more or so, I'd guess."
Good, they were all-business now. He nodded. "Do you need more of that caffeine beverage you call coffee?"
"That'd be nice. With cream and sugar. Thank you."
Vegeta grunted, turned, and headed upstairs. He banged the door on his way out. He made his way to the atrium to order Mrs. Brief to put on a pot of coffee.
Twelve hours later, Vegeta stopped in the middle of dodging lasers. One red laser nicked his shoulder and he grunted before rolling out of the way. He shut the system down, concentrating his attention out of the GR. Sure enough, the woman's ki had vanished out of detection, which meant she'd left. A growl escaped his throat. Yes, he wanted her to leave but not before fixing the bracelet. Unless she did fix it . . .
Vegeta stormed out of the gravity chamber. He ventured through the darkened Capsule Corp corridors and rooms until he came to the lab steps. The light was left on. When he made it to the worktable he found only a few tools and a pad of paper with scribbled notes that meant nothing to him. The bracelet was nowhere in sight. She wouldn't have tried it out, would she?
Vegeta went back upstairs and paced the living room, trying to figure out what to do. A few moments later, Bulma's ki popped back. He fled back down.
Bulma stood near the worktable, fingering a cube with weird symbols and a small metal disc. She smiled, laughing and crying at the same time. Vegeta ran his eyes over her, noting that a large jagged piece of glass was embedded in her elbow. Her right hand was also smeared with blood. Why was she laughing along with her tears? The woman was downright crazy.
"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded.
She clutched her right palm. "I- Well- The bracelet worked."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "You tried it out? Are you out of your fucking gourd!"
She laughed. "It is a transportation device like we thought. It breaks down molecules, speeds them up, and then reconstructs them in another place. Like Star Trek. You know, beam me up Scotty."
He didn't understand her amusement. "Star what? Woman, are you trying to tell me this is nothing more than what that Kakarot can do with instant transmission?"
She shrugged. "Oh, when you put it that way it isn't so fun."
He pushed her into the wall, leaning in close to her face. Her blue eyes sparked. "None of this should be fun for either one of us. Do you ever stop to think about anyone else besides yourself? You are as bad as your double."
Bulma sobered. "I had to try it out to make sure I fixed it. And I did." She paused. "I'll need to do a few more tweaks but then she's yours to show Hedoro who is boss." She glanced away. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Quite the hypocrite," he said. He looked down and noticed blood running down her arm. His jaw clenched. He pulled back. "Come with me."
Vegeta led her upstairs to the medical wing. He ordered her to take a seat and he opened a cabinet to retrieve some bandages and disinfectant. His fingers flexed her arm and used a pair of metal tweezers to disengage the shards of glass. She hissed a little but he noticed she could handle the pain better than his Bulma would have. He attempted to concentrate on the specks of glass imbedded in her palm instead of the way her eyes lingered on his hands. The task was done as quickly as possible. After bandaging her, he pulled away, but her alit blue eyes met his.
They fell into each other, but only through their minds; their bodies stiffly apart. For a second, there was only this Bulma, the real one gone and replaced. Saiyan bonding could be a curse at times because it took over the rational mind. That was one reason why Saiyans practiced hardening themselves with mindfulness on the battlefield, blocking out any attachments. For some reason Vegeta couldn't shut Bulma out, she'd overtaken his head completely.
Bulma reached out and stroked three fingers down his strong jaw. He felt a twitch near his crotch and saneness returned. He snatched her hand, eyes fierce.
"I won't deny that we have a bond, Bulma, and that is why you must leave now," he said. Right now.
Shakily, and tears forming, Bulma pushed back the wheeled chair. She held her bandaged hand to her chest, head down. She nodded.
Vegeta stood up and walked away. He headed to the shower for a cold recovery. Who was he kidding. Bulma was Bulma. There was no way to really draw a line of distinction and say 'this one is the true one'.
The icy spray drenched his hair and the spikiness fell. He let the water drench his face and even his eyes. It took longer than necessary for his body to relax. He leaned forward, arms outstretched, hands curled against the tub's wall.
Despite there being two Bulmas, he was only married to one. His Bulma. The one that shared his bed, who woke him up in the middle of the night with a jab, tossing and turning. Who bitched and complained that he spent too much time in the GR and couldn't take out the trash. Who gave birth to the baby down the hall. The one that really knew him. Who would not have to raise Trunks alone and suffer from the android onslaught. The one that only had him to return to.
No, there was only one Bulma. His Bulma, he decided with finality.
AN- I really planned on there being more to this chapter, but too many words came onto the page. So, the showdown between Vegeta and Hedoro will have to go into the next one.