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
Chapter 50 -
Upon their arrival back to Capsule Corp, Vegeta and Trunks heard powerful bickering from the direction of the gravity room. Trunks scrunched up his face.
"Ugh," he said, "I'm gonna have to go grab my ear plugs." He shook his head and walked off.
Vegeta was set on doing the same, as in ignoring the yammering, because it didn't make one bit of difference to him, but he halted near the open door when he heard a loud thud. He grimaced and peeked in. He found that Future Bulma held her hips, her neck outstretched. "I can't fix this in a day, Vegeta, not this time!" she yelled at Future Vegeta.
"Well you better, woman, because I need to get stronger NOW."
"You fried the entire wire apparatus for the FIFTH time in the past month! I am not going to do a quick tap here and screw there. If I stay up all night for that you will only screw it up again. I have to solve the problem altogether." Future Bulma put two fingers up to her mouth and bent to examine the still steaming control panel. "Maybe some sort of new encasing. . ."
"You will fix it tonight," Future Vegeta insisted.
Future Bulma straightened. "You haven't heard a thing I've said. If I redesign the terminal and protect it, then it will save time in the long run. This won't happen again and you won't have to take multiple time-outs."
"I don't believe you have heard ME. I will not take an extended leave now even to prevent more in the future. I must train."
She grabbed a wrench and threw it at his head. He reached up and snatched it with ease. She took her entire tool kit and tossed it at him. He jumped out of the way and the tools went scattering.
Vegeta watched the scene, wondering if he should intervene but decided not to. Maybe this argument was a good thing. He remembered many make-up sessions after heated debates. This couple was in need of a good lay.
"Stop your hissy fit and go occupy your ass. I am the one with the brains here, and so what I say stands!" Future Bulma yelled. She stepped forward and poked him in the chest.
With an incredulous expression, Future Vegeta took her hand, and stared her in the face. "You better watch yourself. I could decide to take charge at any moment." He released her and barged past Vegeta.
Future Bulma bent to retrieve her equipment. Vegeta almost left but slipped in to help. She gave him a smile as she tucked in her cable ties. "Aren't you the knight to my rescue?"
Vegeta drew back. "He was right, you better watch yourself."
She laughed. "I've done well up to now. Why start today? Anyway, neither of you will hurt me. Your toy is in my hands." Her eyes lingered down at his crotch, implying that she wasn't only talking about the GR.
This brought a blush to Vegeta's cheeks. He took a step back.
"Relax, I'm just teasing."
Helping her with her tools was a bad idea. He should have walked on by, straight upstairs to his wife.
Future Bulma stood up. She eyed the hanging wires. "If I don't do something he will blow the entire place up eventually."
Vegeta let out a breath, glad her tone changed. He ran his gaze over the damage and then took in the gravity room area. There were structures here and there; too many things to get damaged and get in the way.
He pointed. "There are too many things around. Wouldn't it be better to hide them?"
Future Bulma's eyes lit up. "In the floor!"
"Or the walls," he said. He recalled the robots coming out of the walls and ceiling. Everything was protected unless released.
"Excellent!" Future Bulma said.
He shrugged.
She tapped her fingers against her chin. "He's not going to like the down time that will take. . . Oh well. You know, I think I will do a complete overhaul. Serves him right."
Nodding, he turned to leave. He was about to the door when he felt something vibrate softly yet strong in Future Bulma's ki. He froze and furrowed his brow. No, it wasn't Future Bulma's ki, but – an extension? It was inside her but . . . The energy flickered in the background, but now that its presence was known everything else fell away. He didn't know this ki signature. The intensity, the determined nature.
This was good, for he wasn't sure how he would handle it if it'd been Bra. Yet, maybe that would have been better. Now he had this concern that possibly his next child wouldn't be Bra either.
He shifted back, mostly in curiosity.
Future Bulma glanced over from her work, gloved hand still exploring the wall panels. There must have been something in his expression. Her face fell. "So, you figured it out?"
Before he knew it, he'd stepped forward too close. The baby's energy pulsated brighter, as if in reaction to his presence. He stared at her stomach, completely hidden underneath an oversized CC jacket.
"Did you tell him?" he asked, nodding towards elsewhere, wherever his counterpart wandered off to.
She smiled, a sad small turn of the lips. "I didn't have to. He felt it just like you."
Vegeta's hands curled. The bastard, he thought, remembering the scene previously. Had he really been that cold? Yes, long ago. Had he really put the gravity room over his unborn child, paying no attention to its conception? No second thought to the mother who would stay up all night without sleep? Yes and yes. He had. . . He never would again.
Future Bulma remained silent, not anything left to say. That was the end of the story. Future Vegeta most likely hadn't reacted at all to the news of a second child. Vegeta knew otherwise. The bastard probably had a storm of two sides waging inside him. Still, he didn't have any remorse for the other.
Vegeta reached out and in a swift motion scooped up Future Bulma. "Wha-?" she screeched directly in his ear and he winced.
"It's after ten o'clock. I'm taking you to bed."
"No," she squeaked, "He's gonna kill me."
He hefted her rump. "I thought you trusted him, what with your toys?"
He carried her through the dark twists and turns of the wing. She held onto his shoulders and he felt the heat of her breath against his cheek and ear. When they made it to her room, or possibly their room, but he wasn't sure (there wasn't a hint of Future Vegeta's presence), he dropped her quickly onto the mattress. This was a bad idea.
Future Bulma lifted up and smiled. "I can tell what she sees in you. You are the icing on the cake alright." She laughed, but he didn't find it funny. For a moment he wished he could be in two, no three places at once.
"Just get some sleep," Vegeta ordered. "If he does anything reckless, let me handle him. And keep your work hours from 8 to 5."
"You really are a protective daddy and husband, aren't you?"
The muscles in his face twitched. There was no way he'd answer that question. Not that he needed to. After a few seconds, he noticed the shininess on the sides of her eyes despite the shadows. She covered her sorrow well, but not as well as he suspected Future Vegeta hid his internal turmoil.
Anything he would have done in response would have made things worse, so he drew back. In the hallway, after he shut the door with a click, he came face-to-face with himself. The man's stone face should have mirrored his own, but it seemed eerily foreign.
Future Vegeta slammed him against the empty wall. "Take care of what is yours and I will take care of what is mine."
Vegeta moved back, kicking the other man across to the other wall. Incredulous, furious, and powerless, Future Vegeta looked back.
"I don't see any claim on her! Let me give you a tip, make sure you put a tag on possessions or they might get lost."
"I don't need any tips from you!"
Vegeta cackled. "You need an entire instruction manual." He moved on, done for now.
At the end of the hall he stopped to take a few breaths. He entered the guest bedroom to find Bulma sitting on the edge of the bed. She lowered the photo she held.
"What the hell was that out there?" she demanded.
He grinded his teeth. "Nothing."
She lifted an eyebrow. "It didn't sound like nothing."
He ran a hand down his face. "Just leave it be, woman."
With that, she stood up and came over. Without words, she gently took off his gloves, setting them on a nearby velvet chair. She brushed her fingers against each calloused palm and then brought them up for a kiss. She brought his hands to the sides of her waist. He leaned in, putting his face to the crook of her neck. She smelled like perfume and lavender. His Bulma. He reached up and grabbed her left hand, rubbing the wedding ring.
"You are mine," he whispered and she shuddered, touching back.
He nipped her neck and she went to Jell-O. He took her over to the bed, in the same fashion he did with Future Bulma, briefly taking time to move the photo of baby Trunks to safety upon the nightstand. He leaned over her, pressing into crevices.
She cupped his cheek. "My prince."
"I'll never leave you," he promised.
Her eyes widened and then softened. "Damn right you won't. And neither will I. We're stuck together, all six of us."
He stilled. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oops."
AN – Remember, Future Bulma went to the future timeline of the regular timeline and discovered that Bulma will have not just Trunks and Bra but also twins. That makes six for the happy family. But, no, she is NOT pregnant now, only Future Bulma is.
And next chapter the action starts.
