Just One Confession

IV.

I was so relieved when Goten came back with all seven dragon balls in record time. I was going insane sitting around the house, not knowing what to do in the meantime. Uub had left for some reason, I'm sure he told me, but I wasn't listening. Videl continued talking to Pan, trying to make her understand why my secret was kept from her all her life. I don't know what kind of excuse Videl came up with for me, but I'm sure it was better than anything I could have said.

Gohan began telling me of the fight between Goku and Vegeta. He explained that he, Uub, and Trunks began fighting Vegeta first, hoping it wouldn't even have to come down to the ultimate battle. Apparently, Vegeta hadn't been just taking it easy all these years; he had gotten much stronger. He said that Vegeta wasn't lying when he said he accidentally killed Trunks, for there was no way to stop the blast about time he realized it was Trunks he was aiming at.

What got me curious was when Gohan said that he thought Goku died on purpose. He said Goku telepathically told him that if he let Vegeta kill him, that he might leave the earth again without harming anyone else. He didn't want to have to kill Vegeta, so he died instead knowing that we would bring him back with the dragon balls. I was glad to hear that Vegeta really wasn't stronger than Goku.

So anyway, back to those wishes…

* * * * * * * *

All seven dragon balls lay before Bulma, Gohan, Videl, Pan, and Goten. They glowed brightly at their reunion, waiting for their master to be summoned to grant the wishes of those that called to him.

Bulma shook, still not used to the dragon's presence, "Rise Shenron, and grant our wishes!"

Besides Gohan and herself, none of the others had witnessed first hand what it was like to be in front of the large green dragon with eyes that could easily be mistaken as evil. But as his body rose up from the dragon balls, his tail still attached to their power on the ground, they all stared up at him with wonder and respect.

"You have summoned me," Shenron began, his voice just as deep and demanding as ever, "You have three wishes. Make your first one now."

Gohan stepped forward, "I wish for Goku and Trunks to be brought back to life!"

Shenron made a loud, monstrous sound as his eyes became brighter for a quick moment. It didn't take long for his eyes to return to normal as he told them that their wish had been granted.

Pan looked around, "But…I don't see them anywhere…"

"Give them time," Gohan told her.

"What is your second wish?"

Bulma spoke up this time, "Shenron, Vegeta took my daughter, Bra, into space. I wish for her to return to Earth!"

Shenron's eyes glowed brightly.

*****

Vegeta had returned to the control room after his shower, wearing fresh clothing and armor. He saw that Bra had yet to move from her spot on the floor, looking just as she had when he left her.

"You're not still thinking about all that shit, are you?" he asked, almost wishing she was babbling insistently instead of just sitting there like that.

She finally looked up at him, "I—."

"Bra."

The voice that abruptly called out her name made her jump to her feet with a quickness, her wide eyes searching around the ship. When she looked at Vegeta, he saw that he looked just as alarmed.

"Who…what was that?!" she yelled, sure they couldn't both be losing their minds.

"My name is Shenron. The dragon balls have been collected and a wish has been made to return you to the planet Earth. Do you consent to this wish?"

Her first instinct was to yell how insane that sounded that some dragon would be talking to her, but she stopped herself with a quirk of an eyebrow, "Huh? You mean you have to ask me if I agree with it before you can just do it?"

"Yes, now answer the question."

"Well, of cour—!" she stopped when she saw that Vegeta was staring at her with that penetrating gaze of his. It seemed to her like he was getting his last look at her and wanted to remember everything about her. Her heart dropped in her stomach when she watched his eyes close before he turned his back on her to look out the small, circular window.

"Answer me!"

"No," she heard the word leave her mouth the second the dragon demanded she answer.

"What?!" Vegeta spun on his heel when he heard her say this, his eyes wide with shock and horror.

Bra was almost expecting the dragon to say something else, but when no other sound was heard, she crossed her arms, smirking proudly at Vegeta, "You're stuck with me now."

*****

"Your wish cannot be granted."

"What?!" All of them screamed from the ground.

Bulma's heart beat wildly in her chest, "But...but why, Shenron!?"

"The one you speak of does not consent to the wish. I cannot grant the wish if the party does not want to return."

Bulma's eyes widened. She remembered Shenron telling them something like that when they all tried to wish Goku back to Earth, but he refused. But why would Bra refuse the dragon's offer?

Bulma turned to Gohan, terror in her voice, "You don't think Vegeta forced her to stay, do you?!"

Gohan looked just as surprised at her, "I…don't see any other reason why she would…" Since Bulma looked too worried to suddenly think, Gohan thought quick before voicing his next wish, "Shenron, I wish for me and Goku to be transported on the ship that Vegeta and Bra are on!"

Bulma snapped her fingers, "Good idea, Gohan! And then I'll wish you guys back here once you get her!"

Gohan nodded, the plan sounding perfect.

"Your wish cannot be granted."

"Oh, now what?!" Pan yelled, getting annoyed that the dragon was denying all their wishes when she always heard that he could grant almost anything.

"The ship they are on has just entered into the west galaxy. I cannot grant a wish that succeeds my creator's abilities. His abilities only go as far as the north galaxy."

They were all speechless.

"Make another wish."

Bulma's voice was shaky as she began, feeling more and more hopeless, "Shenron, please…I wish for a spaceship like Vegeta's…one that will have the durability and speed to travel to the west galaxy."

They all held their breath as Shenron's eyes became bright. Would he say that it could not be done again? When they saw an object appear beside them, first glowing with a white light, then fading to reveal a spaceship, they all jumped in the air with joy.

"This will save me tons of time from having to build one myself," Bulma commented enthusiastically, glad she wouldn't have to work under pressure like she first feared.

"Your wish has been granted. What is your third wish?"

They all looked at each other.

"Have any ideas?" Gohan looked around at all of them.

As all of them went into deep thought, Pan's eyes became wide with excitement, "Hey, I bet Shenron didn't stock up the spaceship…ya know, with lots of really good food and stuff like that?"

Bulma laughed, "You sounded just like your grandfather with that comment."

Gohan smiled, "Well, I guess if we can't think of anything else…"

*****

"What were you thinking?!" Vegeta yelled at Bra in anger, his fists clenched, "You had your chance to return to Earth and you just turned it down like that?! What makes you so sure that I'll even want to return you myself after we refuel on Eslia!?"

Bra shrugged. She was just as confused with her refusal as he was, but didn't want to show it. She went to the chair she had been sitting in earlier and flopped down, "Guess I'll just have to take my chances, huh?"

Vegeta gritted his teeth at what he thought was her stupidity, "You… imprudent earthling! Are you purposely trying to waste my time!?"

Bra narrowed her eyes at this question. She stood back up, walking quickly over to Vegeta with her hands on her hips, "No, I just didn't get the whole story out of you yet! How am I supposed to leave with only what you've told me so far?! It'll be like watching a horrible ending to a movie that had potential!"

"Ugh, what a stupid analogy!" He turned away from her again, fuming, "Well, you're out of luck both ways, Princess. You're stuck with me, but I'm done talking. Get used to the silence."

"Hey, no way!" Bra reached out and grabbed the back of his armor, refusing to let him ignore her, "I won't shut up 'til I'm dead!"

Angered by the fact that she dared touch any part of him, he smacked her hand away when he twirled back to her. She seemed startled at the sudden change in him, holding her hand close to her chest when she saw that he was done arguing with her.

"That can be arranged! Just because I didn't kill you on Earth doesn't mean I won't do it up here! I can tear your heart from your chest and eat it for lunch as I dispose the rest of your lifeless body out the shit hole!" Every step he took towards her made her take a step back. The fear in her eyes were equal to when he had his hand wrapped around her throat.

When he had her backed against the wall, she trembled as she wondered whether or not her mother made any other wish yet and if she would know to bring her back to life. She remembered hearing that the dragon balls turned to stone for one year after wishes were made. She didn't want to wait a whole year to be brought back! To think of all the things she would miss out on if she were gone…going to college with Pan, being the maid of honor in Goten's wedding like he promised, starting a relationship of her own…

"Unbelievable!" Vegeta yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts. She cocked her head to the side when he walked away without laying a finger on her.

*****

As soon as Shenron granted their last wish, he quickly became one with the dragon balls again. The balls floated up into the air, turning white in an instant, and then scattering to multiple ends of the earth. As soon as the sky returned to normal, Goku and Trunks landed in front of the group.

"Go—," Bulma began, but was interrupted by an enthusiastically loud Pan.

"Grandpa!" the young girl screamed, laughing as she rushed to him, feeling like nothing more than a small animal as she got wrapped up in his strong arms.

Bulma smiled anyway, her eyes turning to Trunks. Before he even got a chance to say a word to her, her small, fragile arms were around her son's shoulders, "Oh, Baby…I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you so much!"

Trunks closed his eye when Bulma placed a kiss over it, a blush lighting up his cheeks when he noticed Goten standing right beside them. The younger man pointed and laughed, the competition of who was more of a Mama's Boy between them still just as strong as when they were young.

"Mom…c'mon, I wasn't even gone that long…" Trunks said quietly, though didn't make any moves to remove her from him.

"It was long enough for me," she argued for herself, but backed away from him anyway so Goten wouldn't give him too hard of a time. She looked over to see that Pan let Goku go. Her smile grew as she walked up to the love of her life.

"Goku…" hearing her voice saying his name brought chills down her spine. Trunks was right; it hadn't even been a full day since they were gone, but with so much of her life spent without Goku, she swore she wouldn't live another hour without him if she didn't have to. When her small fingers clutched the material of his gi, she brought her face to his chest, breathing in his scent. She felt him lean over slightly when he brought his arms around her, resting his cheek atop her head.

"I told Trunks I'm not his real father," Goku said, though not in the tone that he would normally use. It sounded slightly strained.

Hearing this, Bulma lifted her head from his chest and looked up. His eyes were just as big, just as loving, but there seemed to be a slight difference…a momentary sadness maybe. He still smiled at her, though it didn't quite hit home.

"And I guess I'm not Bra's either," he ran a single finger through her short hair as though he just confessed his love to her.

"Goku, I…" her eyes watered knowing that she, the one person that loved him for everything that he was, hurt him in a way he could never get hurt on the battlefield.

Goku held his smile anyway, "You know you could've trusted me, Bulma," he chuckled gently, "I'm not mad at you."

"You're…you're not?" she sniffed, suddenly feeling very childish and hoped that none of the others were watching them too closely.

"Of course not! I'm Goku, remember?" Bulma eyed him as he walked around her to check out the spaceship. Goten caught up with him, waving his arms around as he went into detail about what happened with Bra and the dragon.

Bulma reached out a hand, knowing full well that even if he wasn't mad, he was still pained. Whether it was more from finding out that Bra really wasn't his, or the fact that she kept that little detail from him all these years, she wasn't sure. Both sounded equally as horrible.

She felt a strong hand on her shoulder, stopping her before she could run over to Goku and tell him every reason in the world why she was sorry. Looking over, she saw that it was Gohan that stopped her. He shook his head.

"Just give him some time, Bulma…you know he'll come around," Gohan told her with a confident smile. Despite how he seemed the same to everyone else, the two of them spotted the slight lack of enthusiasm he usually possessed.

Nodding, she folded her arms over her stomach, feeling insecure and small, "I know…it's just…"

"Bulma, no one hates you," Gohan said, never releasing her shoulder, "Pan may have been a little confused with it all at first, but look…everyone's still talking to you…no one's even criticizing you for anything."

She smiled at him sadly, "That's because they know you do enough of that."

Gohan laughed at her joke, "Well, maybe so, but wouldn't you rather have it that way?"

"Always…" she responded as she thought about all the times Gohan kept her grounded.

"All right, guys!" Bulma and Gohan looked up to see Goku with his fists clenched in excited anticipation. He was grinning, though his eyes were nothing but serious, "I'm heading off to Eslia…and Goten and Trunks are coming with me!"

*****************

Hey everyone! Well, it seems like I'll be getting more into the action side of this story now. Anyone see where this is going yet? Oh yeah, and I believe that Dende did allow the dragon to grant three wishes opposed to one after the Buu saga, right? I'm serious, it's been so long since I watched the actual series, I'm going off of fuzzy memories half the time. Oh, and along with some action comin', I promise some romance in the next chapter too. I'm kinda getting' that itch for it, ya know? ^^ Thanks for the reviews.