Chapter 14
"Oh Bulma, would you look at these? They are absolutely adorable!" Mrs Briefs said, showing her daughter the sky blue baby booties in her hands. Bulma looked over and smiled brightly at the shoes they'd bought for her unborn son.
At seven months pregnant, Bulma was looking positively radiant. She was enjoying her pregnancy but at the same time was very excited to meet her son. This was evident in the work she and her mother had done in the nursery. It was filled with teddy bears, rattles and other baby toys. They had bought the finest clothes and crib they could find. Granted it was a little extravagant but Bulma wanted nothing but the best for her baby. The best feature, however, had to be how the room was painted. The walls were painted light blue with white accents along the corners and the edge of the ceiling. The roof was the pièce de résistance. It was painted a very dark blue with tiny white stars splashed across it, representing the night sky. In the evening when the lights were off, the stars would literally light up, giving you the impression you were looking at a beautiful starry night. It was magnificent and she couldn't be more happy with it.
Unfortunately, it hadn't always been like this. She hadn't always felt this light and joyous. And it was all thanks to one particular person.
In the beginning, after Bulma had found out that Vegeta had left the Earth, she'd been in a bit of a slump. She couldn't understand why Vegeta had decided to leave without telling her. It was funny to her. The stupid male spoke about how they were life partners but he didn't think she deserved to know about his plans. You'd think that leaving the planet would be a big enough deal that you could let your wife (so to speak) know but apparently, she was wrong.
A few days later, she had snapped out of her pity party and decided to carry on with her life. Bulma was determined to not let Vegeta ruin her pregnancy. This was her first baby, she was supposed to be excited for goodness' sake! And she was.
Once she got back into the game, Bulma and her mother had bought numerous baby and home improvement magazines so she could pick what she liked and didn't like for the nursery. She wanted her baby to have the best nursery she could manage to give them. Other times she was in the lab working on projects that her father had deemed 'safe' for her to do. And so, to avoid being coddled like a child, Bulma decided to work on company matters that had been screaming for her attention. The constant activity was doing wonders at keeping her busy.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about her surly Prince.
At first she'd been upset that Vegeta had gone, and rightfully so. Though, as time went on, that sadness had begun to turn into anger the more she started thinking about his reasons for leaving. The arrogant bastard had probably thought that if he told her, she would've turned into a sobbing wreck at his feet, desperately begging and pleading with him not to leave her as if she was some sort of silly teenager. Eventually her rage had reached its peak and she sent him that recorded message expressing her thoughts and feelings. When she was done, she had felt so much lighter, as if she had lifted a weight off of her chest.
And thus, the wait began.
Perhaps it had been foolish of her to do so but she had waited for Vegeta to send her that signal. Bulma didn't think she was asking a lot, all she wanted was a sign that he was still alive. She had held a tiny hope that he would respond, even if it was a written message that said: "Leave me alone, you foolish woman!" It would've been much better than radio silence.
She should've known better than to get her hopes up, not even a little bit.
As the months passed, doubts had started creeping up on her like a demon in the night. At first, Bulma thought that her message was taking a bit of time to reach him. After all, he was lights years away from the Earth, she just didn't know how far since he'd somehow managed to disable the tracker a few days after he left.
Towards the end of her second trimester, she began to worry about him. All sorts of unwanted thoughts started racing through her head.
Is he okay?
Did he run into someone even stronger than Frieza and get himself hurt?
Had he managed to do what she'd always feared he would do and get himself killed while trying to achieve Super Saiyan?
That all changed when at six months pregnant, Bulma had woken up one day and came to the conclusion that nothing bad had happened to the Prince of Jackasses. In fact, she couldn't explain it but she just knew he was alive. She could feel something inside her burning with life. He was perfectly fine wherever he was. And he had purposely done nothing to notify her that he was okay. The thought of him doing that had hurt worse than if he had turned out to be dead because it just meant that he simply didn't care.
After that, she had pushed Vegeta out of her mind and dedicated all of her focus towards her baby. She wasted enough time and energy worrying and stressing about that prick.
There was one thing that came out of that bleak situation.
For half a year, Bulma and her mother had spent a lot more time together than ever before. They would go to different baby stores to coo and preen and squeal at all the various items they found and, of course, impulsively bought. Bunny would also accompany her to her doctor's appointments for her checkups and ultrasounds. She couldn't be more grateful towards her mother and her unwavering support. At one such appointment, Bulma had an ultrasound done on her and it was revealed that she was having a boy. The young genius had tears in her eyes when the doctor had her listen to the steady pitter-patter of her baby's heartbeat with her mother holding her hand the whole time. It had been a magical day.
Ever since then, they had ordered all kinds of plush toys, baby clothes and everything they needed to make sure that her unborn son had the most comfortable life that she could give him. Bulma had insisted in helping to decorate her son's room while she could still stand for long periods of time. Once the painters had finished, with special attention being paid to the ceiling, she and her mother had gone to town organising the room into a wonderland fit for a little prince.
And so they stood, present day, in the room after making the final touches and took a step back to marvel at their work. The room was complete and was utterly perfect.
"Mom, you're an absolute miracle worker! This place looks fantastic!" Bulma exclaimed with a brilliant smile directed at Bunny. The older woman was barely prepared when her daughter flew into her arms and hugged as tight as she could with her bump in between them.
Bunny giggled before wrapping her arms around her daughter and squeezed her back.
"Don't be silly Bulma. We did this together and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It's such a charming room fit for a charming little prince!"
The endearing woman slightly pulled back and held Bulma by her shoulders, smiling at her all the while. "This little baby will have the most wonderful life filled with so much love and joy, especially when he has you and Vegeta as his parents."
Bulma's face lost a little bit of it's glow after hearing his name. She averted her gaze to look at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Not liking the blank look on her daughter's face, Bunny moved her hands to cup Bulma's face, getting her attention again with the simple gesture.
"Now, don't look so glum darling. I know you're still upset at Vegeta but try not to worry about it too much. He's going to come back stronger than ever and when he's beaten those nasty androids, he'll come straight back to you and your son. Don't give up hope, okay?"
"Okay." Bulma nodded with a tiny smile on her face. Bunny smiled warmly at her and kissed her tenderly on her forehead.
"Well, I think it's about time we relaxed and had a snack. I'll be right back."
The heiress watched her mother walk gracefully out the door, gently humming a familiar tune. She couldn't help but chuckle under her breath when she thought of her mother's words to her. Apart from Goku, her mom was one of the most innocent, pure hearted people she had ever known with a heart of gold who always looked on the bright side of things. It was a refreshing thing to be around considering the world they lived in.
'And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.' She thought to herself with a small smile.
Bulma sat in a rocking chair that faced the gardens outside and let the slow, gentle sway of the chair relax her. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and with a sigh of contentment escaping her lips, placed her hands on her bump. Bulma rubbed her belly and smiled softly at the responding kick she felt. Her eyes opened and fell upon the golden sunset, the sky painted soft pink and purple. The view was, in a word, breathtaking.
'I can't wait for the day I can hold you in my arms, Trunks. Then you and I can watch sunsets just like this one together. Doesn't that sound wonderful?' She looked down at her bump with a loving smile on her face, already imagining the days to come.
"I'm back, honey. I usually wouldn't encourage this before dinner but I figured you deserved it after today." The heiress turned her head and saw Bunny walking in carrying a big glass of strawberry milkshake that was sat on a saucer. Her eyes widened at the sight, her mouth watering slightly with anticipation for the cold, sweet drink. As soon as she got her hands on it, she took a sip and moaned with delight at the taste.
'I swear, Mom always makes the best milkshakes on the planet.'
"Thanks Mom. You're the greatest. I didn't even know I needed this." She took another sip and closed her eyes. Could the day get any better?
The older woman smiled at the compliment and waved her dainty hand.
"Before I forget, there's someone here to see you sweety."
Bulma looked up with raised eyebrows. "Who is it?"
Bunny turned slightly towards the door. "You can come in now!"
The heiress felt her eyes bulge slightly when none other than Yamcha walked into the room, his eyes roaming over the entire space with mild surprise evident on his face. She stood up to greet him and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when his gaze settled on her midsection.
"Yamcha, if you keep doing that your eyes are going to fall out of their sockets."
The former bandit snapped his head up at her little quip and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile on his face.
"Yeah well, I wasn't exactly expecting to see you looking so...pregnant. It suits you."
Bulma shook her head at him with a smile on her face. Even after all these years, he was still so jittery around her. It was endearing, really. At some point, Mrs. Briefs had quietly exited the room so she could give them some privacy.
In all honesty, Bulma was very happy to see Yamcha again. Surprised, sure but definitely happy. She hadn't been certain if he was going to see him again, not since his fight with Vegeta.
The heiress shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and brought her attention back to her former beau.
"So, how have you been?"
"I've been doing good. How about you?" He directed his gaze to the wall.
"Good, good." Bulma could've cut the air between them with a steak knife. That's how bad the tension was. They were quiet for a few seconds before she broke the awkward silence between them.
"Kami, you'd think we were complete strangers seeing each other for the first time. Even when we first met, things weren't this weird between us." Yamcha nodded his agreement at that.
"But I guess that's my fault." The former bandit opened his mouth to respond when Bulma held up a hand to stop him.
"Look, before you say what you came here to say, I just want to apologise for what happened. I never got the chance that day when you left and I was too afraid to look for you because you were just so angry and hurt and rightfully so. I broke your trust in the worst possible way and tried to waltz around the truth, not for your benefit like I'd convinced myself, but for mine.
I can't tell you the amount of times I thought about hopping into a plane and searching for you but I was too afraid that my presence would break whatever was left of our friendship. I just want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me." Her eyes fluttered as she tried to keep her tears at bay. Yamcha saw this and stepped forward to embrace her. He was never able to stay mad at her for long.
"It's okay, Bulma. That's actually why I came here today. I was hoping to clear the air between us. I admit I was really pissed off after I found out what happened with you and Vegeta but over time I started to get over it. I realised that you were right when you said that we were trying to delay the inevitable, it was really a matter of time until we broke it off for good. So as much as I hate the way things ended between us, I'm kinda glad we broke it off because now, we can focus on strengthening our friendship."
He rubbed his hand in comforting circles on her back while she cried silently against his chest. "No matter what, you'll always be my best friend B. Okay?"
The young genius nodded her agreement, her face still hidden in Yamcha's chest as she let her guilt make its way out of her body. There were no words to describe how happy she felt at the fact that Yamcha had forgiven her before she even had to ask, no matter how much she felt she didn't deserve it. She made a promise to herself right then that she would never take advantage of him again.
They held onto each other for a moment longer before Bulma pulled away, wiping her face with her hands. She looked up at his kind brown eyes and gave him a small but sincere smile.
"Thank you Yamcha. I'm really glad to have you back. I mean that."
"Me too, Bulma." He smiled at the happiness in her expressive face. He had missed her as well and was glad he made himself come and see her. It had ended better than he had expected it to.
He looked around the room once again and directed his gaze back to her, questions visible in his eyes.
"So, you and Vegeta are having a baby, huh? Let's hope he turns out more like you than him." He joked...partially. If he was being honest with himself, he was a little disappointed that this wasn't his baby Bulma was carrying. But that was why he was here right? So they could start on a clean slate, as friends and only friends."
"You and me both." She answered with a dry smile. Bulma looked to her left, gazing at the tiny trinkets laying around her son's room.
If he hadn't been paying attention, he probably would've missed it. Yamcha saw a circular scar on the spot between her shoulder and her neck. It was smooth and blended in with her pale skin.
"Bulma, how in the world did you get that scar on your neck?"
She winced at the question, not really looking forward to telling him about the events of the past year.
"It's...a really long story. One I'll tell you about later. For now, why don't you stay and join us for dinner? We can catch up a bit more about how your training in the desert went."
"Hell yeah!" Yamcha readily agreed with his signature goofy smile on his face. He would be crazy to turn down Mrs. Briefs cooking. Hell, anyone would be crazy to turn down her cooking. That lady was a magician in the kitchen.
They made their way out of the nursery and slowly walked downstairs, joking and laughing the whole way there, just like old times.
That evening, the dinner table at Capsule Corp. was filled with laughter, joy and camaraderie. It had been too long since they had all experienced an evening like this and they were taking full advantage of it.
Bulma couldn't have asked for a better end to a perfect day.
Author's Note: What a wonderful day for the entire Briefs family! We just turned up the fluff meter by 100 here and I LOVED it :D!
I hope you guys liked this chapter. It was easily one of my favourites because of the positive emotions everyone experienced in the fic. We needed a bit of happiness to cheer Bulma up. As always, a big thank you to Becky L. Sly and earlschibiangel for their reviews. You guys motivate me to keep going and deliver my best.
Stay safe, happy and healthy everyone. Until next time my dudes. Peace, love and pixie dust, RR18