Kera:

As fast as he could, Piccolo flew with Kera in his arms to Bulma's and Vegeta's house. Kera was nervous. She had completely lost her sense of time and had no clue how long Vegeta, Kakarrot and Trunks had stayed in the future. Were they back quickly? If so, did it mean something good or bad?

When they finally saw the mansion, Kera jumped out of Piccolo's arms and dropped to the ground. She hit the ground harder than she intended and took in the situation. Kakarrot was lying on the ground next to the time capsule, looking a little green around the nose. Trunks was sitting next to him and seemed exhausted. Vegeta had pulled Bulma into a tight embrace and was standing with her on the other side of the time capsule.

Kera was reluctant to disturb her brother's togetherness with his mate, but her curiosity was stronger. Vegeta had already noticed her and detached himself from Bulma. A brief smile flitted across his lips.

Kera sighed with relief and threw her arms around her brother's neck. "Thank the gods. You're all right."

She stifled a sob and pulled Bulma into the embrace, only to distance them both again a second later. "Tell me, what happened? Did you win? Is that bastard..." She faltered. Unbridled rage boiled up inside her and tears came to her eyes.

Piccolo stepped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She felt a calming effect from his hand and took a deep breath,

"What about Kakarrot?" She turned round to hide the tell-tale glitter.

"Like me, he flew on the outside of the time capsule and didn't take it so well," Vegeta explained, not without a little malicious glee in his answer.

Kera knelt down next to her half-brother, who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, all fours stretched out and moaning softly.

"Will he make it?" she asked, looking at Trunks, who grinned with amusement.

"I'll help him a little."

He placed a hand on Kakarrot's arm and closed his eyes. Nothing happened for a moment, then it suddenly began to glow under Trunks' hand. Fascinated, Kera looked at her nephew from the future, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Two seconds later, he released his stance and slumped backwards. He was breathing heavily, as if whatever he had just done had cost him great strength.

Kakarrot straightened up at the same moment Trunks dropped backwards. The green colouring had disappeared from his face. The scratches that Kera had previously discovered all over his body were still there, but clearly faded.

"What... how did you do that?" In disbelief, Kera looked from Kakarrot to Trunks and back again. Kakarrot shrugged his shoulders. Kera left him, stood next to Trunks and held out her hand to help him stand up.

"Everything okay so far?" Trunks nodded and accepted her hand gratefully. As she pulled the boy up, she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "Saiyans can't heal. How did you do that?"

"Before the Supreme Kai in my timeline was killed, I went to him and asked him to awaken my powers. That's what the Supreme Kai in your timeline did with Gohan."

Kera nodded. "I remember that. He had really amazing powers."

"Well, apparently he did even more with the power awakening ritual than he intended, because I became his disciple. And the students of Supreme Kais gain healing powers."

"The Supreme Kai in your timeline probably didn't know any better," muttered the Supreme Kai who had appeared next to them with Beerus and Whis.

"Good, you're back." Beerus nodded to Kakarrot and Vegeta and then yawned heartily. "Whis, I want to go home and forget all this crap, okay?"

"As you wish."

Whis disappeared with Beerus in a swirl of light and colour, disappearing into a pillar in the clouds.

"Bulma, can we eat together? I need to find out what happened first." Kera helped Kakarrot to his feet and strolled into the house with her brothers. Trunks, Piccolo and the others followed her.

"So, did you fuse?" she asked on the way into the dining room. Kakarrot grinned as the corners of Vegeta's mouth pulled down, eliciting a laugh from Kera. "How was it?"

"Really cool. We were even able to transform into the Blue. But then the fusion didn't last any longer. Gowasu said that we used too much energy."

"I guess we'll have to work on that."

Vegeta:

They had sat together for a long time, eating and talking. Kera wanted to describe every exchange of blows, every transformation and every manoeuvre they had used in the fight against Black. At some point, Trunks' eyes had closed and they had all gone home or fallen into one of the beds in the mansion.

Bulma lay next to him and breathed calmly. She slept soundly. Vegeta felt wide awake, although his body was crying out for sleep and rest. He wished he could sleep, but the experiences of the past few hours would not stop spinning in his head.

It wasn't just the fight against Black that gave him no rest, but also what had happened afterwards. Kakarrot had actually used the button he had received from King Zeno before his departure to summon the King of Everything from the timeline in question, who had then quickly wiped out Black along with the timeline. Mai, Trunks, Kakarrot and he had only just managed to return to their own time with the time capsule.

Vegeta shook himself. He didn't like the idea that he had almost been wiped out. After Kakarrot was reasonably fit again, he had actually flown back to his time with Trunks to take King Zeno there with him and present him to their King Zeno as a friend. Vegeta feared that this would end badly. Now they actually had two King Zenos in their timeline.

And then Kera worried him. She had become increasingly quiet during the meal and had eaten very little at all. Piccolo hadn't left her side the whole time and they had said goodbye early.

Sometime shortly before dawn, Vegeta fell into a restless sleep and woke up to the first rays of sunlight shining through a gap in the curtains.

Tired, Vegeta dragged himself into the kitchen to have breakfast. Bulma was already there, preparing scrambled eggs in a large pan.

"Don't we have staff for this?" Vegeta asked instead of a greeting.

"We do, but I like to cook for my mate."

Despite his tiredness and his resulting bad mood, he smiled briefly. This woman was simply the right one for him.

He silently took the plate with the scrambled eggs and bacon and began to eat. Bulma took a seat opposite him at the counter and kept taking small pieces from his plate with a fork.

"What's bothering you?"

"Why?"

"You got out of that thing with Black in one piece. That disgusting bloke has been destroyed. You should be in a better mood," she summarised.

He shrugged his shoulders and took his time answering. He was still finding it difficult to put his feelings into words, even in front of Bulma.

"We didn't defeat Black. Not alone. It was only because Kakarrot summoned Zeno that Black was destroyed." He sighed. "And Kera was so weird yesterday."

Bulma nodded. "I noticed that too. She ate little and said less and less."

"Do you know if anything happened in the time I was gone?"

"No. I didn't see her. She had left with you for the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and yet she wanted to train with you. I haven't seen her since then."

"She wasn't with me in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. I thought she was waiting for me in the palace. But when I came out, she wasn't there. And she wasn't here when we flew off either."

Bulma blinked in surprise. "She wasn't with you in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? Why? When it comes to training, Kera's just as nailed down as you are and wouldn't budge for anything in the world."

Vegeta hesitated and avoided her gaze. But then he answered quietly. "She's expecting a child."

One emotion after another flitted across Bulma's face. Surprise, disappointment because Kera hadn't told her yet and finally sadness because she herself still wanted a child and it hadn't worked out so far.

Vegeta reached for her hand and stroked it with his thumb. "She only found out the day before Black appeared here in the time rift." He didn't know what else to say. He felt helpless, seeing his mate so sad and not being able to do anything about it.

"You should fly to her if you're so worried."

"I'll wait until Trunks and Mai have flown away, then I'll fly to Kera."

The night before, they had discussed at length whether Trunks and Mai should stay with them or leave for another timeline. Because they couldn't go back to their own timeline. In the end, the two had mutually decided to set foot in another timeline, even at the risk of running into each other in that timeline.

Vegeta stood up without letting go of Bulma's hand, walked around the counter and stood in front of her. She towered over him and looked at him with wide eyes. He put a hand to her cheek and looked her firmly in the eyes.

"You are the most intelligent, strongest and most beautiful woman I know. I am proud that you are my mate."

He saw tears glistening in her eyes and her cheeks took on a reddish colour. She placed her hands on his cheeks and leant down to him to seal his lips with a long, intimate kiss.