Never (Ch.7)
Bulma stepped out of her car, staring at the small house before her. It'd been a while since she saw him, and a long time since they'd broken up. She raised her hand to knock as she approached the front door, only to have it swing open before her. Yamcha froze in his steps. "Bulma! Hey! What are you doing here?" Bulma gave a small smile. "Hi Yamcha…I was wondering if you had the time to talk." Yamcha gaped at Bulma a minute before he stammered, "Y-yeah…come on in." Though Yamcha had cheated on her when they'd still been an item, Bulma had to admit that he knew her extremely well…and based on that fact, she was hoping he could give her some answers.
After Bulma sat down, she decided to get straight to the point. "Yamcha, I have some things I want to ask you…but I need you to be completely honest with me. It's the least you can do after how you treated me." Yamcha looked down at his feet. "Gee Bulma…I'm still extremely sorry…I realized how crazy I was to cheat with another woman after I realized that Vegeta…" Bulma had narrowed her eyes. Yamcha fell silent. Bulma sighed then spoke up. "Yamcha….that's the reason why I'm here today. I need you to tell me everything you know about Vegeta and me." Yamcha blinked. "What do you mean? Oh I get it…did you and Vegeta get in another fight?" Bulma shook her head. "We're fine…just…do me this favor, please." Nervous at Bulma's unusual behavior, Yamcha decided to obey her plead.
"Well…I don't really know what happened between you and Vegeta and how you guys came together, but somehow…it happened. Goku, me, and the others always wondered if you guys were truly in love, or whether it was just lust keeping you two together. But…over the past year or so, I've been closely watching Vegeta…and Bulma, I really think the guy loves you. There's always this possessive gleam in his eyes when other men are around…and I know he still dislikes me for how I treated you. Whenever Krillin, Goku, or I compliment you, Vegeta gets this little smirk on his face…and call it a guy thing, but I just get this feeling that he really cares for you, even though it's not obvious." By this time, Bulma had gotten a bit teary-eyed. If Yamcha…her ex…could so plainly state that her husband loved her, what else did she have to doubt? Even if her memory never returned, she could start all over…right? That was the question that scared her.
Bulma looked into Yamcha's face. "Yamcha…what makes me more suited with Vegeta than you?" Yamcha's eyes widened. "Bulma…what are you saying?" Bulma sighed. Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I don't know…I just…don't see how I could've fallen so hard for Vegeta…I want so much to love him so that we can be happy like the pictures showed…but…I'm so afraid I can't!" Bulma began to sob softly. Yamcha's heart wrenched at the sounds of anguish. Even though they were no longer a couple, Bulma was still very dear to him…even if it was only as a friend. He stood up and walked over to where Bulma was sitting. Wanting to comfort her, he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Step. Away. From. Her." A cold, deadly voice rang out from the door. Both Yamcha and Bulma's heads snapped up, There stood Vegeta, his face twisted into an infuriated scowl. Bright yellow energy glowed around him, and his eyes were filled with betrayal and rage. It was easy to see that Vegeta had misinterpreted the scene before him. Yamcha raised both his hands and said, "Vegeta, listen man. It's not what you think, okay?" Vegeta snorted. "Right. 10' o'clock at night…my woman's at your house, and you're standing like you're standing a centimeter away from her. Maybe less. How the fuck do you explain that!" Bulma stood up. Before a word could come out of her house, Vegeta turned his steely gaze to her. "And you. You made me retell our history and led me to believe that even though your memory was gone, your heart still responded to our bond. What a fool I was. I bet you couldn't wait to come running to this bastard, huh?" Bulma walked over to Vegeta and slapped him across the face….hard. "Listen to yourself! You barge in here, assuming that we're doing something disgraceful behind your back without a second's hesitation. Well, do you notice that both our clothes are still on, and that besides having a had on my shoulder, Yamcha wasn't touching me in any other way! My god. For your information, MY LORD, Yamcha was telling me how much you cared for me, and how I really should be with YOU and not HIM!" Vegeta continued to glare at his wife. Bulma glared right back, refusing to back down.
Finally, after a few minutes of the heated staring contest, Yamcha spoke up from the couch. "Vegeta…my intentions towards Bulma are completely neutral. We're friends…and I'm sorry, but that's not something you can take away. We've known each other for years…and I still care very much about her. However, I've never had the slightest thought of seducing Bulma or persuading her into an affair with me. Believe it or not, I'm no longer the lowlife I was when I first cheated on Bulma." Bulma turned to look at Yamcha. "Thank you for that, Yamcha. You, too, are a dear friend of mine. I'll be leaving now…thanks for your time." Turning to Vegeta, she said in a deadly voice, "You. Home. Now." Spinning on her heel, she walked away, leaving Vegeta behind. As she got to her car door and reached in her purse for her keys, Bulma felt a pair of arms reach around her and pick her up. Without a word, Vegeta picked her up and flew towards the woods.
Landing in the middle of the forest, Bulma whirled around and slapped her husband again. "Don't you EVER make such ridiculous assumptions again without having solid evidence first. DO YOU HEAR ME!" Vegeta shrugged and went over to a tree. "You can come out now, Kakarrot." Bulma gasped, "What!" Out from behind another tree stepped Goku and Gohan…both ashamed to have been caught. Bulma ran over to them. "What are you doing here!" Goku scratched his head, chuckling slightly. "Well…we felt Vegeta's ki suddenly flare up and thought that he might be in some danger, so we decided to come and see what was up. We got here just in time…and realized that you two were having another quarrel. So…um…sorry to bother you! We'll leave now!"
Bulma shook her head with a smile and marveled at how goofy yet adorable her friend could be. Laughing lightly, she went over and hugged Goku. "Thanks for being such a loyal and caring friend, Goku. Vegeta and I are alright…just sorting a few things out."
Vegeta, on the other hand, couldn't resist the warrior's instinct with him. Sensing that Bulma's anger was slowly receding, he longed to have a spar session with Kakarrot to ease the previous hour's emotional rollercoaster. Not turning around, Vegeta sent a ki blast flying Goku's way. Then he whirled around, only to have his smirk disappear and his eyes widen as the blast hit Bulma, who was still hugging Goku, squarely in the back.