Updated 05/12/18
"I don't feel like having a futile argument with you, so just listen." Vegeta sat with his arms crossed, trying to maintain his distance. Bulma was on the other end of the couch, watching him silently. Of course, when she'd pulled him into the house, the saiyan had been quick to accept a meal from her. It was expected of her and her family to provide food to him - they always had in the past! Vegeta didn't say a word as he ate, and after he finished his feast he'd led her outside to the ship. It was inside that they both now sat on opposite ends of the couch, and there was a tension in the air that made the Bluehead feel uneasy.
"The androids are going to emerge in less than a week." Vegeta continued with monotone. He didn't want emotions to confuse his message, and he didn't want her to find a reason to digress. He simply wanted to express what he had to come to say, and he wanted her to know that he was serious about it.
Of course she'd known. Bulma bit her lip. It'd been in the back of her head ever since that mysterious man had warned Goku about it three years earlier. She'd been suppressing the knowledge, but she'd certainly known. Three years had already passed. Time had been so quick to fly by...
"Of course, I will defeat them in a matter of minutes. And the only reason it'll take that long is because I plan to give them a chance to understand how inferior they truly are before I put them out of the misery of their existence."
Bulma didn't respond. She didn't doubt that the androids stood no chance – not between Goku and Vegeta combined. So why was he telling her this? She was suddenly feeling very dreadful, unsure if she even wanted to know what he would say next.
"But I want you to listen to me now, because I will only say this once." Vegeta remained calm, but his voice was suddenly slicing through the air like a knife. The sentence resembled a threat more than anything else, and the Bluehead leaned forward as if she might not catch what he was about to say otherwise. "I know how you are, Woman. I will tell you right now not to even think of coming to the battleground."
She couldn't decide if it more because of his words or if it was because of the tone, but Bulma was suddenly offended. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She snapped, her cheeks flushing.
"You know exactly what it means. You do take a liking to the attention you get when you show up to things that are of no concern to you, don't you? Do you not remember how distracting you were when Frieza came to Earth?" The saiyan maintained his cool composure.
"I was not!" Bulma retorted. "And anyway, I've been planning to go! I've been waiting for months! I haven't seen anybody for so long! I... I wanted to surprise everyone with Trunks!"
"Enough of your backtalk! I told you to listen!" The saiyan's voice was beginning to raise, but only to emphasize his point. He wasn't yelling at her. "It would be stupid of you to put yourself and the boy in a preventable situation like that. If you show up you'll only get in the way. I don't like being distracted during battle, and if you are caught in crossfire it'll be a result of your own foolishness."
"I'm not going to get caught in any crossfire!" Bulma yelled. Everything about Vegeta's words were an insult, and the fact that he was speaking in such an unvarnished manner felt like a slap in the face. "That is not going to happen! And even if it did, I-"
"If it did happen, then don't expect me to compromise my advantage in the fight in order to protect you." Vegeta interrupted. "Have one of your weak friends do it. It's not as if they'll be useful during battle, anyway. They'll surely just be standing by and groveling at the depths of my power."
"My friends aren't weak, and they're a hell of a lot more reliable than you!" Bulma snapped, jumping from her seat and flipping her hair back. "At least I know I can depend on them to be around if I need them!"
Vegeta had been trying to remain calm, to keep himself emotionally uninvested in the conversation, but he was starting to look slightly irritated now. There was a tension rising in his shoulders, but for the most part his face remained unadorned. It was as if he'd already thought of and planned every aspect of this conversation, and had even counted on her taking his words with such offense. Bulma could see that he'd already decided on every response he could give to anything she said, and it was getting to her. He was being so hurtful and remaining so stone-faced! She wanted to get a rise out of him! To make him feel protective, jealous, upset! It had been so long since they'd ever seen each other! She just wanted him to show some type of damned concern!
Suddenly all of the pain he'd put her through resurfaced and began to wave through the depths of her body. She was taken all the way back to when he'd bluntly described their intimate moments as "indiscretions" - to how emotionally neglected she'd felt when he'd run off to space and refused to communicate with her. And she was still feeling raw from when he'd stormed off only a few months earlier. Now, on top of everything else, he was sitting in front of her and telling her that he wouldn't protect her if she was in danger - and acting so damned matter of fact about it all?! Bulma was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to get him to react. She wanted him to be emotional. She knew that deep down inside he cared! She wanted him to act like it!
"Well, I have something to tell you, too!" She announced. "I wasn't planning on you finding out like this. In fact, I tried to talk to you about this the last time you came, but you were being a complete jerk and refused to discuss anything with me!"
That did it. Vegeta obviously hadn't planned on this. He began to look uneasy now. This was a turn of events that he hadn't anticipated responding to. He raised an eyebrow, his eyes widened. He could remember her trying to speak to him about some nonsense involving the infant. The saiyan had just assumed she was going to try to get him to do something silly and time-consuming, such as changing the boy's repulsive diaper. "What are you on about?" The calm in his voice was finally starting to crack, much to her delight.
"Since you seem to insist on being so blunt, I'll just say it!" Bulma shrugged, waving a hand in the air as if she was bored. Now it was her turn to be nonchalant. How did he like it when the tables were turned? "Trunks had a little procedure the other day."
He wasn't sure why he should even care, but his tongue suddenly felt dry. It was obvious by the way she'd been yelling a few moments earlier that the woman was angry with him. And he knew how she acted when she was angry. Whatever she was about to tell him would be aimed at inducing a fight, and as much as he could predict this, it was working. "What?" He asked curtly. He could feel himself losing with his attempts at civility. His patience was thinning, and his heart rate was starting to increase with anticipation of the bombshell she was about to drop. There was an impending surprise, and he wanted her to just spit it out.
"I finally got his tail removed."
The words were a blow he'd never expected, which seemed to knock the wind from his chest and brought Vegeta to his feet. He stood, shaking as the words sank in, his hands balled into fists. "Don't toy with me!" He hissed. His face was starting to turn a pale shade of red, and he was shooting her a dangerous look of warning. "Tell me what happened to the boy, and tell me the truth!"
She'd expected Vegeta to be angry for not being informed before the surgery occurred, despite the fact that she'd tried telling him. But she hadn't predicted that he would react like this. She'd wanted him to show some sort of concern over the baby's well-being, to ask how he was doing and if he was okay... but instead he was looking extremely pissed. His voice was sharp, and Bulma could hear a tone of rage building within that she had never heard him direct towards her before. It was as if he were wanting to confirm that it was true before he allowed himself to completely lose his temper and go crazy. Feeling somewhat in shock by the situation, Bulma took a step back. This was backfiring on her.
"Tell me!" The enraged saiyan snapped again.
Bulma took another step back. What had she just done? "He..." She breathed, her heart sinking as the watched the expression on his face.
"Spit it out!" Vegeta was glowering at her, and she knew that he was getting more angry by the second. She was scared of his rage. It wasn't that she was afraid he'd hit her - she knew he would never physically harm her. She wasn't frightened of that, but of the harshness in his voice, of the inevitable confrontation. The realization that Trunks' tail was so serious to the saiyan that he was going to become this upset. She thought back on how much her parents begged her to wait and talk to Vegeta, and she hadn't listened. They had known.
She was used to having altercations with just about everybody she'd encountered. But she wasn't ready for this. Not with him. Not when he was this angry at her. "It had to be removed." She finally said.
The man before her didn't seem to take notice of her disheartened body language. His eyebrows furrowed, and she thought she could see the slight throbbing of a vein in his forehead. However, it was the sudden glint in his eyes that really took Bulma by surprise. Yes, he looked more angry than she'd ever seen, but there was something else. A twinge of grief that flashed through his pupils for a brief second before he closed his eyes to hide it away. Sadness that she hadn't ever seen on his face before, the skin on his forehead wrinkling as he took in a deep breath and processed what she said. Bulma waited for him to reply as she watched his chest began to heave, the sound of his breath growing thicker. Her heart was sinking even deeper as she watched, lamenting what she'd done. She'd done what she had decided would be best for Trunks, without the benefit of being able to talk to Vegeta first. But in doing that she hadn't just pissed the saiyan off... she'd hurt him. Seeing his reaction was more heart breaking than she'd ever thought possible. She hadn't meant for it to be taken like that. She'd been more than angry with Vegeta for how he'd behaved towards her, but she hadn't meant to hurt him... Especially not when it came to matters that concerned their son...
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the incensed saiyan opened his eyes again and spoke. "Away." He growled.
The Bluehead raised her eyebrows, still in shock by the outcome of her actions. She shot him a questioning look, and it seemed to only disturb the saiyan even more. "Away, Woman! Get out of my sight!"
"It had to be done!" Bulma snapped. When she heard the sniffling in her own voice she realized that she was crying, unable to bear seeing the pain she'd unintentionally caused. She needed to explain it all to him - everything she'd been going through. Maybe then it would take away from his own hurt, and they'd come to a mutual understanding.
Vegeta crossed his arms and turned his back to her. "I want you to leave."
"Vegeta." Bulma tried again, tears streaming down her cheeks at a brisk rate. How was it that she could feel so empathetic to him when he'd put her through so much? She'd tried so hard with him – always trying to see things from his point of view, and now he looked at her as if she'd betrayed him. If only he'd let her explain herself. If only they could talk about it, he'd understand… She went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Vegeta, please listen..."
Instantaneously Vegeta jumped from her touch, swinging around to face her again. "Away, Woman! What about that do you not understand!" Bulma flinched at his volume. "Go to the house!" Vegeta was spitting, turning his back once more. "Go inside! Return to that cave from whence you've come! Tend to that boy inside and leave me alone!"
"That's no way to speak of me!" Bulma yelled back. "And that boy is your son!"
"Oh?" He growled, glaring at her over his shoulder. "My son? You call that boy my son... how can he be my son when you've defiled him of anything he had in common with me."
She wondered if it was possible that she was suddenly as angry as he was. Having an attitude and yelling at her was one thing. She could defend herself - she was a big girl! But she wasn't going to stand for him scorning the baby that she adored so much. "Hey now..." She hissed, her thin blue eyebrows lowering over her eyes. "Don't be an idiot..."
"Idiot?!" Vegeta swung around again.
If Bulma hadn't been so mad she would have been frightened by the thunder of his yell. Not only was his voice louder than ever, but the air around the saiyan had begun to sway, his temper and ki rising even higher. "I am the alpha-man. The supreme prince of the almighty warrior race – a SAIYAN! And you are going to present me with this infant. That boy never ceases his godawful crying, he has this stringy human hair instead of the thick black mane so symbolic to my people, and the one trait he had to brand him as a saiyan you've castrated him of! The boy doesn't even have a tail now! What characteristics does this boy have left that would link him to me, Woman! TELL ME THAT!"
Bulma's was shaking her head now, a mixture of being stunned at his rant, angered by his words, hurt at his tone, and even remorse she felt for not handling things differently. Without thinking, she made her way to the saiyan and slapped her hand across his face as hard as she could. "How could you say something like that!" She wailed. "He may not have a tail anymore, but he's still your son!" Her palm was throbbing from the impact, but Vegeta hardly felt a sting. He placed a few fingers to his cheek, a derisive smile forming on his lips. The saiyan made sure that his chuckle was loud enough for her to have no doubts about it.
She'd stopped sobbing now, feeling somewhat sobered from her assault on him. "What about me?! I'm not a saiyan! I'm from Earth, and this planet is his home! Did you actually expect him to be brought up on your planet?! To be as to be as heartless as you are!? It doesn't even exist anymore! And oh, so he cries all the time and doesn't have a tail! Well, look who's talking! He sounds just like you! All you do is bitch and complain!" She ignored the irony that her words could easily apply to her as well. "I don't ever want to hear you speak about our son like that again, you hear me?! He is your child, and he always will be! The tail doesn't change any of that!"
Vegeta, still having looked amused from Bulma's blow, dropped the smile from his lips. He eyed her coldly, bringing his fingers away from his face. "I am fully aware that he will never set foot on my home planet, woman. Do not underestimate my understanding of how limited the number of remaining saiyans are. Do not remind me of things I already know. And do not betray me and then expect me to take orders from you!"
"Fine, then!" Bulma yelled. She stormed for the ship's door and threw it open. "If that's how you feel, then I'll just fucking go!"
"Good!" Vegeta snarled back as the door slammed shut. Bulma could hear commotion going on inside the ship as she marched through the yard. She attributed it to him blowing off steam. She wasn't crying any more, but as she made her way closer to her room she could feel the tears re-emerging. The house was dark and silent, her family having retired to their beds for the night. As she crept up the stairs, the last words Vegeta had spoken were cutting into her like a knife, and she was beginning to feel incredibly wretched.
Betray.
He really did think of it as if she'd betrayed him. He'd been the one to abandon his family, so why did she feel so terrible? Even after the harsh things he'd said about Trunks, she felt uneasy as she threw herself into her bed. The image of his pained face after her breaking the news to him replayed in her mind, and she bit her lip to keep from sniffling as she sobbed. She was beyond angry at him, but why did she also feel so bad? Why was it that she felt this way when he had been the one to say such things?
"Do not underestimate my understanding of how limited the number of remaining saiyans are" His words circled in her ears like a broken record, and the more she heard them the more they were analyzed. How lonely must it feel to have your native planet destroyed, and to be one of the last living people on it? Vegeta never complained of his own tail missing, but perhaps it had meant more to him than he ever let on… It was a reflection of his race. His people.
"The one trait he had to brand him as a saiyan you've castrated him of." His words – they'd said it, and she'd been too busy defending Trunks that she hadn't thought how Vegeta must have felt. She hadn't thought that removing his tail was anything more than just getting rid of an unnecessary body part – such as one would do with wisdom teeth. She'd never realized how cherished the tail was to a saiyan. The tail had been something that Vegeta felt that he and Trunks had in common, and she'd taken it away. But she hadn't known! How could she have known when he'd never told her?
Had she destroyed something that Vegeta felt symbolized his and Trunks' bond? She hadn't meant to do anything that he'd see as a betrayal, and perhaps that was what bothered her the most. If she'd known how deeply the tail meant to him, she wouldn't have done it. Of course she wouldn't have! Bulma needed Vegeta to see that... She needed him to know that, regardless of what had happened, her intentions weren't to hurt him! Removing Trunks' tail hadn't been a malicious act! If he still wanted to be upset, then that was his choice, but she didn't want him to have an inauthentic idea of what had happened.
A horrific thought crossed her mind then.
He was going to leave again. If he left feeling as scorned as he did, would he ever come back? Bulma suddenly sat upright, throwing the blankets off in a frenzy. The possibility of him departing in a fury was not implausible. How many times had he done it before? This time he was so mad that he really might not ever return! She couldn't bear the idea of their last conversation being so horrendous. His last memory of her being so cold and selfish. Her last memory of him being so brute. She needed to speak to Vegeta, to try and create some kind of understanding. She wanted to get him to listen – to see things from her point of view. To understand why she'd done it. To know that it wasn't intended as a betrayal.
Normally, after a fight like this, she'd be inclined to maintaining her distance and waiting for him to be the one to come around. But there wasn't any time for that - she couldn't let her ego dictate her actions with this one. She had to try and look beyond her own pride.
Bulma was fast as she made her way through the house, not caring if she woke any of the sleeping inhabitants. Her worst fear at that moment was that she'd make it to the back door just in time to see Vegeta taking off into the night sky. She needed to get to him before it was too late.
There's only going to be two more chapter after this. To see what happens after Chapter 40, please be sure to read the sequel, The 7 Year Gap.