The unexpected knock on the door pulled Yamcha from his sleep with a jolt. He'd been working with the professional baseball team for a few years so very few people actually knew his address.
That in itself was enough to make him tug on shorts abs make his way to the door. "C'moning, I'm coming."
Pulling the door open, he leaned back, as if hit.
Bulma stood on his doorstep, her eyes wet and her hair soaked from head to toe. She looked less the well put together scientist he knew and more drowned cat.
The pattering of the rain outside gave away that reason but that left him even more confused. Bulma willingly out in a storm was not something he expected and why was she here ?
"Bulma?"
"Hi, Yamcha." She was oddly calm. "I know it's late but can I come in? I promise I won't stay long."
He considered telling her no but found he simply couldn't. Much as they'd argued and gotten into tiffs, he still genuinely cared about her, despite all that. Stepping aside, he let her enter.
She took off her shoes at the door and followed Yamcha into the kitchen. He didn't say anything, just poured her a cup of coffee which she took gratefully, nursing it to ward off the cold.
"Vegeta left." Her voice sounded an odd mix of disappointed, ashamed but above all, not surprised.
Yamcha bit down his "I told you so," as validating as it might have been to gloat in it. "Did he?"
Eyes dark, Bulma nodded. "Took off into space, spouting about surpassing Goku." She huffed, stared into her cup. "I thought I could make him stay."
"Can't change a man like Vegeta." Yamcha said simply.
"But Goku changed so many people!" Her protest sounded desperate, like a child clinging to the last strands of a dream before sunrise came. "I know I'm not Goku but I thought if he could have food, a gravity room…"
Yamcha just listened.
"And I thought it was working! He wasn't…well, he wasn't nice exactly but he was having conversations, at least! And we had…" she went quiet. "I thought what we had that night was special."
An odd pain took Yamcha by the heart. Much as he'd wanted to move to that level with Bulma, he'd respected her desire to wait. What they were waiting for, he wasn't completely sure as he'd thought their relationship was solid. But if she wasn't ready, he'd wait.
Knowing she'd gone to that level with Vegeta but not with him hurt but he didn't linger on it.
The hurt and utter betrayal in her voice was more important.
They'd split up. If she chose to go that route with someone else, that was her choice. But hearing he'd just taken off afterwards without so much as a word to her was infuriating. What if she was with child? Would he care then?
Yamcha doubted it.
"I guess the reason I'm here…" Bulma was quiet again, sipping her drink occasionally. "Is to see if you….if we…."
Any normal person would have thought the worst of Bulma at that moment. Oh, she must be pregnant and needs support. Oh, things didn't work out so let's go back to the one she tossed away.
Yamcha didn't.
Firstly, if she was pregnant and knew it, she would have told him and even if that happened later, Bulma wasn't exactly lacking in support. Raising a kid, financially, was hardly an issue. Emotionally might be another issue but he couldn't exactly blame her for trying to seek out someone she trusted.
That was the kicker.
She'd come to him because she trusted him. Despite them ending their relationship on mutual (if reluctant) terms, she had enough respect for him to go for him when she needed someone.
That spark was still there.
But there was something else…
"Bulma, are you pregnant?"
She stared at him for so long they he began to wonder if she'd heard him at all. But it was more confusion and realization on her face. "I…don't know. Didn't even think about that." Her eyes became fire. "Is THAT why you think I came?"
Yamcha shook his head. "No. Know you better than that. But figured you might not have thought about it."
She set her mug down, folded her arms. "I didn't. Didn't even think about it." She looked at him. "That's not why I came asking you about us."
"Then why did you?"
"I miss you."
To hear that from Bulma was a feat.
"I mean, we weren't perfect but I miss you." Sighing out loud, she said "You know you're exactly the kind of man I used to dream about as a teen? And here I was pushing you away because I wanted something…exotic."
"That why you wanted to end it? I was boring?" Okay, maybe there was twinge of anger.
Bulma huffed. "Not boring. Not exactly. I dunno. I mean, I guess I was…I wasn't looking for…" she fought with her words a moment more. "I was wrong."
Yamcha stared at her.
"I guess I needed Vegeta to show me that. One of those don't know what you have until it's gone things? There were things I liked about having him there but I started to miss you. A lot."
Yamcha answered her "Missed you too. Still do."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I think it was good we went apart for a bit though. Maybe we both needed time to think." He considered, "I'm still working with the baseball team and the training for the Androids but…I'd like it if we could…explore again."
He meant that. Deeply. He'd missed her, missed her laughing and her science babble and everything else—
Tears still in her eyes, Bulma grabbed his arms. "Yes. Yes! I promise I'll be…well, I'll try to be more understanding! But you'll come see me, won't you?"
Grinning, he said, "One nice thing about training. I can fly a lot faster now. Taking time to see you'll be easier!"
"Don't you go getting killed then!" Her face was stern. "Not again."
"Not on my bucket list, I promise."
She grasped him tight, lay her face against his chest. It seemed unreal to be able to do so again but knowing he'd stay loyal to her (despite rumors, he'd always been) and that she didn't just have to stay with the old memories was a relief. They could try this again.
Do better, both of them. Make better choices. Be better listeners. More patient. More understanding.
Maybe they'd both needed to do some growing up.
When Yamcha placed a kiss to her forehead, she leaned into it and kissed the innermost part of his neck.
She looked forward to doing more growing with him.