UK English. I don't own the characters. It's been a while but I'm back! At this rate I might be done in five years haha.
In the last chapter, Present Vegeta told Bulma he planned to stay on Earth.
Languid fingers trailed down her bare back and up again, the delicate caress making her skin prickle and shiver. She snuggled closer into his chest, enjoying the feel of its rise and fall as he breathed softly, still half asleep.
The fire had long since died, but even though they were at a much higher altitude up here at the lakehouse, the morning sun had begun to filter through the windows, warming her bare skin. It seemed luxurious dozing away the morning when Bulma's recent days had been filled with frantic work morning and night in the lead up to the androids and then Cell. But as much as she wanted to relax, a worrying thought kept gnawing at her.
"Vegeta…"
He grunted under his breath in reply.
"We didn't use any protection."
His fingers stilled.
"To prevent another baby," she continued. "I'm still expressing milk so I can't take the pill and I-"
"Would you be upset?" Vegeta asked, cutting her off.
Bulma rolled onto her stomach so her upper body rested on Vegeta's chest and she could see his face. "About having another baby?"
He pressed his lips together and nodded.
"I don't know. It's not something I thought would happen. I wouldn't mind, I suppose, but I know you don't like children."
Vegeta frowned. "I don't dislike children." At her incredulous expression he rolled his eyes. "Much."
"You were pretty dead set against it before."
"I didn't want fate to decide anything for me. I didn't want to bring a child into a world that was destined to be destroyed." His frown melted away, and he stared at her, curious. "Can you blame me?"
"No." She chewed in her lower lip. "Are you saying you want more children? Because Vegeta, you haven't exactly been in the life of the one we've got."
"I know that," Vegeta snapped. "And one brat is plenty."
"But if we did have another you wouldn't…"
"Run away to space?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so you admit, you did run away," Bulma laughed.
Vegeta made a rumbling sound in his throat, and rolled them both so he was on top of her. "I came back." He kissed her collarbone, his hot breath fanning across her. "And I told you last night, I have no intention of leaving. And I suppose… Although I have no desire for another child right now, if you do get pregnant again we could make an army of genius Super Saiyans and take over the planet."
Bulma giggled. "We are not having children to build your private army."
"Our private army," he corrected, nibbling on her ear. "Just a small one. A squadron at most."
Still laughing, Bulma tried to push him off, but she may as well have been shoving a mountain. "We can make an army later. I need to get back to our son."
"Stay." Vegeta kissed the top of her chest, and started making his way downwards. "I'll make it worth your while." His hand slid up from her hip, running over her body then up her arm. He intertwined his fingers with hers and placed a searing kiss on her lips. Bulma couldn't help but respond in kind, arching her back at the pure pleasure of his touch.
"Fine," she gasped out when he broke the kiss. "But come back to Capsule Corp with me this morning."
She expected an objection, but Vegeta merely rolled a little more so he was on top of her. "As you wish," his low voice rasped in her ear. "But I'm going to make you come at least three times first."
"Three times?"
"At least."
The wicked grin he gave her before he began placing hot kisses down her body left Bulma in no doubt that he would keep his word, and more. Vegeta was nothing if not an overachiever.
—
When she arrived back at Capsule Corp, disheveled, in last night clothes, and in the arms of Vegeta as he landed at the front door, cheers and whoops rang out from the Z Fighters, most of whom, much to her annoyance, were still partying.
Vegeta went bright red and set her down, then disappeared inside quickly.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked a rosy cheeked and grinning Krillin.
The short man shrugged. "There wasn't much point in leaving. We want to see Vegeta and Trunks off, and since they are leaving today we didn't see any point in going then coming back."
"Right." Bulma ran her hands through her hair, then glanced at Future Vegeta, who looked thoroughly amused.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes. The machine is ready to go today, don't worry."
The Saiyan's smirk grew. "That is not what I was asking."
Bulma shrugged nonchalantly and began walking down the hall towards the kitchen where she could hear Trunks babbling loudly. "Everything is fine." She tossed a sly grin back in Vegeta's direction. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Hm." Vegeta quirked an eyebrow. "Good to know past me isn't a complete idiot then."
A few hours later, Bulma and the Z fighters stood in the yard, crowded in front of the time machine. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, with the fresh damp smell of spring in the air. No one would ever have known that the world had nearly ended the day before.
"I have everything you asked for." She dangled a small bag of capsules before Vegeta and Trunks, who stood in front of the newly fueled and tested machine. "Food, medicine, and a capsulised spaceship - which was no easy feat I might add."
Vegeta accepted the bag. "Coffee?"
"Of course," Bulma said. "And a couple of bottles of my favourite wine to help you celebrate when you get your me back." She winked at Vegeta, chuckling when he flushed predictably. "Now go defeat those androids. And stay safe!"
"Stay safe yourself." Vegeta frowned at her. "No more throwing yourself into danger to save the world."
Bulma scoffed. "Please, next time there is danger I'm not waiting for you Saiyans to fix it. I'll stop them on my own and be the hero."
Vegeta chuckled, a low rumble in his throat. "You're already a hero," he said, shaking his head. "I get the feeling this timeline will be fine from now on."
"Thanks to you," she said. "If you hadn't come back…" Bulma tucked her hair behind her ears, then ambushed him with a quick hug. "Your me is going to be so proud."
Vegeta stiffened but allowed the embrace for a few seconds before pulling away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her Vegeta, who had ventured outside after much cajoling, scowling from his position leaning on the tree the furthest away from all the Z fighters.
"And of you as well," Bulma said to Trunks, opening her arms wide.
Trunks gave her a tight hug back. "Thanks Young Mama."
Having already said their goodbyes to everyone, Vegeta and Trunks climbed into the small machine. Just before Vegeta hit the button to close the roof, he paused, his hand hovering over it. He glanced at Bulma, then shifted his gaze to his younger self. They scowled at each other with identical expressions for a few seconds in a strange wordless exchange before Future Vegeta pointed a finger at the younger before tossing a glance at Bulma and back again. "Hey," he called out across the yard to Vegeta.
"What?" Vegeta snarled."
Future Vegeta smirked. "Don't fuck it up."
Vegeta responded by offering his older self the middle finger.
Bulma couldn't help it - she burst out laughing at his use of the human gesture.
The time machine's glass roof closed, and everyone except the Vegetas waved goodbye.
"Don't forget your promise!" Trunks called out, his voice muffled as the machine rose in the air.
Then there was a slurping sound, like the water from a bath had been drained, and they were gone.
"Good luck," Bulma whispered to the place Vegeta and Trunks had just been. She stayed, staring at the empty air for a while. She could only hope that wherever they were, they were able to be safe and find their happiness.
"They'll be okay," Goku said, walking over to her with a grin. "They can defeat the androids with no worries."
"I know," Bulma replied. "I guess we'll be saying goodbye to you next."
"What do you mean?" Chi Chi asked from behind them, making them both jump.
"Oh, uh…" Goku scratched the back of his head and glanced at Bulma desperately.
"Sorry, Goku." Bulma patted him on his shoulder. "I'm not helping you out with that."
As Goku started babbling about his plans to leave Earth, Bulma wandered over to Vegeta and joined him in the shade of the tree.
"Any idea what promise Trunks was talking about?" she asked.
Vegeta glanced innocently upwards to the leaves above them. "No."
Bulma snorted. "Liar."
Vegeta shrugged. "Believe what you want, woman."
"Hm. I believe…" She tiptoed her fingers up his arm. "...that I should send everyone back home." She continued to walk her fingers across his chest. "And we continue what we started this morning."
Vegeta grabbed her wrist. "That is the first sensible thing you've said all day," he said in a low, raspy voice. "And perhaps later, we could go get food. I have flown past the restaurant that claims to give you all you can eat."
"Why, Vegeta." Bulma fluttered her lashes. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
His brow furrowed. "A date? I was thinking today. If you'd prefer a different day I suppose it can wait."
"No, a date, as in an outing, where two people…" At Vegeta's blank expression she rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Yes, lunch sounds great." She turned to start shooing all the Z Fighters off her property.
Behind her, Vegeta grinned. Promise kept, and he was getting a satisfactory meal out of it. If anyone was the genius in this relationship it was him.
The pattering of rain against the glass roof startled Trunks more than the nausea inducing motion of being thrown about in time. It had been a scorching day only moments ago, but now the sky was thick with furious clouds unleashing themselves on the city.
"Have we come to the right place?" Trunks asked his father.
Wordlessly, Papa pushed the button to open the roof, and the both clambered out.
Before them lay a crumbled version of the Capsule Corp they'd just left. Its dome roof was caved in, and the paint faded and overgrown with moss and vines.
"It appears we have returned to our shithole of a time." Papa gazed at the sky, and Trunks knew he was looking for the androids.
Trunks did the same, letting the cool rain trickle down his face. Usually before a fight, his body would thrum with nerves, and he would need to force himself to remain still. Not so today. An eerie calm had settled in his chest. All that fear he used to feel had vanished, and in its place was the unwavering knowledge that the androids were a mere pit stop in his and Papa's journey to get Mama back. A task to complete. Nothing more.
After several long minutes, Papa turned Super Saiyan, and Trunks did so as well, almost instinctively.
"Any preference?" Papa asked, his tone cold and focussed on their upcoming task.
Trunks cocked his head thoughtfully. "17, for the arm he broke before we left."
"Very well. Consider him yours."
As two streaks in the sky darted through the clouds, father and son dropped into a defensive stance.
The androids landed gracefully, twin smiles of death carved onto their faces. Trunks was almost surprised at how they looked exactly the same as when he had left all that time ago. But for them, it had only been days. For him, it felt like a lifetime.
"We thought you'd run away," 18 said in her husky voice. She winked at Papa. "I'm so glad to see you missed me enough to return."
17 opened his mouth, presumably to join in on the usual verbal taunting that preceded the twin's attacks.
Trunks didn't wait to find out.
He launched straight at the android, relishing the crunch as his fist hit 17's face and sent him flying backwards, straight into the crumbled Capsule Corp building.
Before the android could get up to retaliate, Trunks sent a blast his way, then flew straight towards him like a bullet, landing a punch to 17s stomach that buried the android deeper into the rubble.
Cool rage, rather than the usual hot anger flooded Trunks' veins. He continued to attack, giving the android no time to get a hit in himself. He could barely see as the area around them was now dust with the amount of blasts Trunks had got in. It swirled around them in a spiral, choking the air, forcing Trunks to rely on his other instincts.
"Trunks."
Every punch, kick or blast was a release of his fury, and he told himself it was for his mother. For the world. The android deserved it. Every hit had been earned through blood spilt.
"Trunks!"
The android's limp body didn't move, but Trunks went to attack again, drawing his first back.
A warm hand wrapped around his wrist, halting him. Trunks turned, ready to attack 18, but stopped his other fist millimetres from his father's face.
"Trunks," Papa said quietly. "It's over."
"But 17…" Trunks trailed off as he looked at the crumpled android.
"Is dead." Gently, Papa touched Trunks' face and with two fingers forced him to look away from the body. "You did well." With his other hand, Papa sent a blast towards 17, making Trunks flinch at the sound. "It's over."
Silence settled on the ruins, the only sound his own ragged breathing. Slowly, Trunks looked up. The rain had stopped.
"I'm proud of you," his father said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Drawing in a deep breath, Trunks leaned forward, resting his head on his father's chest. It was over. After years of training, travelling to a different time, battling many others, Earth in his timeline was finally safe.
Papa patted his back in a motion that would have been awkward for a human, but Trunks knew what it meant. It's okay. I'm here.
Trunks drew himself up and stepped back from his father. A quick glance towards where 17 had been showed nothing but dust and red rubble.
"It's over." He repeated his father's words as if saying them aloud would make them feel any more true.
"Well, almost," Papa admitted. "Gero's lab needs destroying."
He tossed Trunks a capsule. "You get the ship ready. Coordinates are already programmed in."
"And you'll destroy Cell before he even begins."
A tired smile quirked on one side of Papa's mouth. "Exactly." He tilted his head to the side, staring at Trunks intently. "It will be okay."
Trunks couldn't tell if Papa was saying that to convince himself or Trunks. The cool confidence Trunks had felt before had worn off, and the enormity of what they still had to do had settled on his shoulder.
Perhaps Papa felt the same way, because he seemed to hesitate, a frown cutting grooves in his forehead. Finally, he gave a little salute, then took to the air, leaving Trunks standing alone on the grounds of a flattened Capsule Corp, surrounded by the scent of metal and death.
I feel a little guilty because I'd written 80% of this chapter months ago, but felt very demotivated and didn't get around to completing it. But then I found these comments about one of the chapters I posted last year after a very long break on Twitter, and saw how excited people were to have an update after a year. So thank you Twitter readers for motivating me, to every reviewer that prompted me along, and sorry everyone that it took me nearly another year to get more up!