The Second Worst Thing

Chapter 4: Breaking up is Easy. Getting together is not.

By senzubean

I do not own Dragon Ball Z in any way. I make no profit from this story. I just wrote it for fun.

Vegeta awoke with a start. Cold water dripped down his face and welled in his ears. There was also something protruding from his mouth.

"There! That's better I bet!" the ultra cheerful voice of Mrs. Briefs called out and she shoved her smiling face right into Vegeta's line of vision.

Vegeta spat out what he discovered to be a thermometer and sat bolt upright letting the sopping wet washcloth fall into his lap with a plop.

"Vegeta! Lie back down! How do you ever expect to get better if you don't rest?" Mrs. Briefs said sternly then giggled.

"Woman! Are you insane? Sneaking up on a sleeping Saiyan is a good way to get yourself killed!"

"Oh you would never kill me! We're too good friends for you to do that. Now lie down, you'll only get sicker."

"I am not sick!"

"Well there's obviously something the matter with you, or else you wouldn't be acting so weird!"

"There's nothing the matter."

"Don't lie to me." Mrs. Briefs sing songed.

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are." Mrs. Briefs continued then laughed. "C'mon, you'll feel better if you tell me what's wrong."

"No I won't!"

"So there is something wrong then?"

"No! I didn't..There's nothing…. Damn it woman! You're driving me insane!"

"So, is he sick?" Dr. Briefs asked as he walked in the room.

"He said he's not. But I bet he'd say that anyway. Bulma would." She turned to Vegeta. "You know, you and Bulma are a lot alike."

"I- am- not -sick." Vegeta replied ever so patiently. In fact, he realized that this situation was utterly preposterous and he got up to leave.

"But where are you going?" Mrs. Briefs exclaimed.

"Vegeta and I are going to configure the gravity room." Dr. Briefs replied before Vegeta could snap at her.

"We are?" Vegeta asked.

"Maybe if we set the gravity higher it'll help get rid of whatever's on your mind."

"Hmph" Vegeta responded and followed.

Mrs. Briefs blinked confused. Then smiled.

"Would you like me to make some lemonade?"

"So, how much higher do you want it?" Dr. Briefs asked as he opened the control panel and took his favorite screwdriver from his coat pocket.

"Don't patronize me," Vegeta replied. " I know you didn't come out here to set the gravity higher."

"Can't get anything past you." Dr. Briefs chuckled and pulled out a box of cigarettes. He held them out to Vegeta, who gave him a disgusted look. "Right, should've known better. Nasty habit. Bad to start but hard to get rid of."

"Hmph!"

Dr. Briefs reached into the circuitry and started to tinker around. "I'll cut to the chase. We've all noticed, that you've been acting a little different lately."

"This place is different than what I'm used to."

"You seemed to be adjusting just fine up until a few weeks ago."

"It's no one's concern but mine."

Dr. Briefs looked over his shoulder at him and smiled knowingly. "Sometimes it's nice to have some advice. Or at least someone who's willing to listen."

Vegeta normally would've snapped 'Mind your own business' at the strange man but for some reason he was actually intrigued.

"Why do you care about what's troubling me?"

Dr. Briefs went back to his tinkering.

"Someone has to care about you. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

"Life isn't fair. A strong person learns how to deal with that."

"Or ignore it."

Vegeta was taken aback by that blunt statement.

Dr. Briefs closed the panel. "Tell me, son. When was the last time someone showed they cared for you?"

Vegeta stared at him blankly pondering whether or not to answer.

"A..long time ago." He replied quietly.

"I assumed so. You know, Bulma, her Mom and I care about you very much."

"Why?" Vegeta asked. He had never given them a reason. He gave them reason to do the exact opposite.

Dr. Briefs shrugged. "It's hard to explain why. We just do." He walked past him towards the door. "No one's going to hurt you here Vegeta. I promise. I added another 100 g's to the machine for you to train with. Don't hurt yourself."

Vegeta stared at the door long after Dr. Briefs had gone, his mind spinning out of control.

Later that evening, Bulma walked into the dining room expecting to have dinner with her Mother and Father. She was hoping Vegeta would be there too, although she suspected he wouldn't be. Instead of the cocky Saiyan prince, there was Yaumcha, having tea with her Mother and Father.

"Look who's come back for a visit, Sweetie." Her mother chirped.

Bulma folded her arms and glared at him.

"Hey Bulma."

"Hmph." Bulma scoffed.

"Um, well now." Dr. Briefs said uncomfortably and then coughed. "Why don't we leave you two alone to..er..talk." He took his wife's arm trying to get the hint across. Of course, his wife wasn't getting it. "But we were just in the middle of discussing the pies I bought from that new place."

"You can discuss that some other time. The kids need their privacy."

Bulma's mother giggled thinking that her daughter and Yaumcha were going to reconcile again.and went happily along with her husband.

"Your Mom is a nice lady." Yaumcha said after the 'grown ups' had left.

Bulma glared at him and Yaumcha laughed nervously.

"Listen, I just came here to tell you that..."

"...I was wrong and I'm sorry." They both said in unison.

Bulma huffed in disappointment. "You realize that's what you've said every time you've come back, don't you?"

"Well, yeah." Yaumcha replied. "But.."

"But nothing. How much longer is this going to go on?"

"I'm done, I promise!"

"I've heard that promise before."

"Listen Bulma, I've really thought long and hard about it this time and I really think I'm ready for… for a family now."

"A family?" Bulma asked somewhat shocked. "Where did you get that idea."

"Well, from Goku. Remember what he said to you. About...about..a..baby?"

"Goku doesn't know what he's talking about!" Bulma exploded.

"But I think he's right. We should settle down. We'll have a better relationship if we do."

"What does Goku know about creating a better relationship? He created his relationship with Chi-Chi when he was too young to understand what one was between a man and a woman and didn't think about it again until their wedding day!" Bulma replied.

"I can't keep going on like this. I was a vagabond my whole life, I want to be something different now. So, let's start a family. You and I, right now."

"Right now, Yaumcha?" Bulma spat, she walked across the living room and began to rummage in the end able. "Right now with those androids coming in two years!"

"I..I.."

"Forgot?" Bulma finished his sentence, then threw a little black book at him, Yaumcha plucked it out of his lap but didn't open it. "Have you forgotten about all of them too?"

"This is old, Bulma. I don't even think of these girls anymore! All I think of is you!"

"I think about them. How you'd rather spend your time with them than with me."

"I was just trying to experience some different people. You were the only girl I ever knew! You can't blame me for being curious!"

"And you can't blame me for being jealous!" Bulma replied, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "After that first adventure to get the Dragonballs, you said you didn't need anyone else but me. Do you have any idea how special I thought that was? Then...then you just went and found other girls and left me like a worn out shirt in the back of your closet. Good enough to wear when you needed comfort but not good enough to wear everyday."

"That's not true!" He sighed and lowered his eyes. "Look, I was just a kid. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I just wanted to make sure...that you were really the one for me." He walked over and ran his hand through her hair and cradled her cheek tenderly in his palm. "You are Bulma."

Bulma blinked the tears from her eyes. "I had always known that you were the one for me, Yaumcha. But your uncertainty in our relationship made me question what I thought I knew and I realized that you were not for me at all."

Yaumcha stammered, "Bulma...."

"I'll always be your friend Yaumcha, but I don't ever want to have this conversation again. Understand?"

Yaumcha, left utterly speechless, pleaded with his eyes for her to change her mind. Bulma stared right back, her gaze cold and unwavering.

"I'll go..then." Yaumcha said and hastily broke away, leaving his former love alone in her dining room. Bulma sank to the carpet, took a deep breath and shed a few final tears, never to cry over him again.

Vegeta stood in the kitchen, smiling. He tried to ignore the nagging voice at the back of his mind reminding him that he was eavesdropping on trivial human affairs. The fact that scar face was now out of the picture pleased him more than it should have.

"I just can't believe it!" Mrs. Briefs sobbed. "You two were together so long. And he proposed marriage too?"

Bulma sighed but didn't reply. She took another sip of her coffee.

"There, there, dear." Dr. Briefs said consolingly and handed his wife a tissue. She blew her nose loudly. "Bulma must've had good reason to end it, didn't you Bulma."

"He's never been committed." Bulma replied.

"But..marriage!" Mrs. Briefs exclaimed. "How much more committed can you get?"

"I know he didn't mean it." Bulma stated patiently. "Yaumcha looked to the future and didn't see anything for him. Asking me to start a family with him is just his way of dealing with his mixed up life. He needs to organize himself and stop looking for me to do it for him. To be honest ,I should have done this years ago but I was too wrapped up the image of an ideal boyfriend to notice."

"It's all so sad." Mrs. Briefs sobbed and stood up. "I'm gonna go watch some talk shows to make me feel better."

She retreated into the living room.

Dr. Briefs sat down at the table across from his daughter and lit a cigarette. " Are you sure that's the reason, Hon? I mean, it's not because of …"

"Vegeta? Of course not! I'm barely on speaking terms with him. Why would I dump Yaumcha just because that annoying alien seems to have some silly crush on me?"

"About that, I think it'd be beneficial for Vegeta if you tried to be a little less…hostile towards him."

"Excuse me?"

"He's really struggling with his emotions right now. He doesn't need any added frustration."

Bulma couldn't believe he'd ask her that. "Did I tell you what he did to me while you were away?"

"Yes, and that was very mean of him, but you have to understand that Vegeta doesn't know how to act any other way. No one taught him how to get along with other people."

"He's a Saiyan, I don't think any of them would've taught their children how to get along with other people."

"Someone taught him something at some point." Dr. briefs replied gently.

"Yeah, how to kill people."

Dr. Briefs sighed.

"Please Bulma, just try to be a little more patient with him. No more loud arguments. No more throwing things or name-calling. OK?"

"I'll try." Bulma replied. "But I'm not promising anything."

"Good enough."

Vegeta walked in from outside and went straight to the fridge. The distinctive smell of Saiyan body odor permeated the room.

"Training again, that's good." Bulma said pleasantly without the slightest hint of instigation.

"I'm making absolutely no progress thanks to you!" Vegeta said nastily as he rummaged through the fridge.

Bulma's face scrunched up and she looked as if she were about to snap back with something. Dr. Briefs shot her a warning look. Forcefully, she smiled.

Vegeta dropped a mound of food on the table between father and daughter, then went back for more.

"I've got some data to analyze." Dr. Briefs announced and started to leave. "Bye kids."

Vegeta grunted at being called a kid. He plunked himself down where Dr. Briefs had been and started in on his lunch. Bulma could only see the tip of his upswept coif the pile was so big.

"Where do you Saiyans put all that food?" Bulma asked. "There must be twice your weight there."

There was a slight pause, and then she heard Vegeta swallowing. "Our metabolism makes us need this much food. A Saiyan can starve to death in the matter of two days if the circumstances are against him." Vegeta replied matter of factly.

"Interesting."

"Hmph!"

There was another lengthy silence.

"So, on your planet, did Saiyans do nothing but train all the time?"

Vegeta didn't answer her. Bulma waited a minute. "Vegeta?"

"I'm eating, woman! Leave me alone!"

"I was just trying to have a conversation."

"Saiyans don't converse over such trivialities!"

"All Saiyans or just you?"

"I'm the only Saiyan here aren't I?"

Bulma huffed, getting just a little annoyed at him.

"How bout we talk about training then? That's not a triviality is it?"

Vegeta growled at her.

"There's nothing to talk about in that respect!" He replied. "I haven't been training."

"But you're all sweaty!" Bulma observed. She could see Vegeta's beautifully ripped arm where it rested casually on the table. It glistened in the sunlight pouring in from the window. Bulma smiled and looked at it again. Vegeta noticed this over his ever-dwindling pile of food. Bulma abruptly met his gaze and he blushed slightly, then plowed into his food again to hide his embarrassment.

Bulma giggled at him actually acting bashful. Vegeta growled at the fact she thought it was so amusing.

"If you haven't been training, why are you sweaty?" Bulma teased.

"It's hot out today. The gravity room is like an oven!"

"Why didn't you say so? There's an air conditioner in there; I'll show you how to use it. Will that solve your training problem?"

"No, it will not."

"Then what is your problem?"

You're my problem! Vegeta nearly yelled. He was now leaning over the table looking down upon her. His eye twitched visibly and large drops of sweat beaded down his large forehead. He closed his eyes, inhaled slow and deep, and then sat back down.

Bulma looked worried. "This lapse in training is probably your body's way of telling you that it needs a break. I think maybe you're trying to hard."

Vegeta focused on her and his eyes shot lasers her way.

"You think maybe I'm trying too hard?"

Bulma looked at him long and hard. "Yes." She said solemnly.

Vegeta got up violently, knocking his chair to the floor.

"You know nothing!" He hissed and went back outside to the sweltering gravity room.