Couples Retreat

Chapter 2

The small Capsule Corporation airship took off shortly after the two couples parted ways.

"Did you have a good training session?" Bulma asked Vegeta as he sat with his arms crossed in the back of the ship.

"I will give credit where credit is due. Kakarot may be an imbecile, but I cannot think of anyone else who could keep up with me as well as he has so far. Even if he does fall behind sometimes, I imagine he will soon get used to training at the level of a Saiyan elite." Vegeta answered smugly.

Bulma shook her head and half smiled at the back handed compliment. She couldn't deny it, she found his confidence super attractive. Should she ask Vegeta about their problems now? No, it's too much to think about and fly the ship. This was not the time.

About 15 minutes later, Bulma got herself and Vegeta back home to the Capsule Corporation compound in West City. The couple went their separate ways in their home. Vegeta to the ship outside to get some last reps of training in for the day and Bulma trotted down to her lab. She couldn't get the idea of a retreat with Vegeta off of her mind as she headed down the corridor. She had to find a location for this prospective trip.

Where would we even go? Goku and Chi-Chi had their spots on Earth. What special place did Bulma have with Vegeta? Maybe their first meeting spot? But then Bulma quickly remembered that they had met on Planet Namek.

Nope, we can't go back there. Bulma thought. It's gone anyway. And their first meeting in person wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, given the then rogue Vegeta was at odds with Gohan, Krillin and Bulma herself to an extent during those times.

The more she thought about it the more she wanted to go on this journey with her husband. We need this. Vegeta was different in private. When around friends and the Z fighters it was almost like he put on a performance, acting as over the top cocky, tough and arrogant as possible, perhaps to assert strength and show off to everyone else. In private he still acted all those ways but was considerably more dialed down and more open to showing sides of himself he wouldn't show to a group. He showed that he could affectionate too in private. She wondered how he would act some place where it was just her and him. If Bulma could get him alone, then he was certain to be more receptive to her concerns. He had no reason to brush her off. She wouldn't let him.

Bulma changed into some more appropriate lounge wear of a white Capsule Corp. shirt and cyan shorts as she entered her lab, and she curled up in her computer chair. She logged on to her computer and pulled up her star chart program. As a hobby inspired by her travel to Namek, Bulma had begun charting various planets and stars across the universe. She found them fascinating, even if she'd probably never get a chance to visit each location. At least between work and family commitments, she could read about these stars and planets, that was almost as good.

She loaded up various planets and cycled through planets. The uninhabitable or dangerous planets she quickly scrolled through. No sense in going to planets there were purely desert terrain or purely all water. No gas giants either. Nothing romantic about a trip to a planet of poisonous gas. Bulma had already scrolled past several planet profiles on the screen.

Bulma kept scrolling. The ideal destination would be somewhere close to earth, somewhere habitable yet with no deadly creatures wandering around. The less distractions the better. But she also wanted somewhere beautiful, somewhere peaceful. High standards for the many planets in the universe. After several minutes of scrolling, clicking and closing planet profiles on the program finally a dark green planet caught her eye on the screen.

"Cascadia Terra..." she muttered to herself before clicking on the planet's profile. This particular planet was a forest planet. Good start, she thought as she read more information on this new world. Not much information was available on the system besides the fact the planet was mostly uninhabited due to bouts of extreme weather cycles. It appeared that there would be periods of severe storms followed by periods of calm weather, the cycle of both extremes constantly repeated on the planet. Otherwise, it seemed like it could sustain some life. It already had billions of trees from the looks of it.

This might be the ticket. We just have to go when it isn't extreme weather season.

Bulma loaded up a satellite software to see if any information on the terrain of Cascadia Terra had been collected. To her surprise there was some. She loaded up several images to get a feel for how the surface looked. Immediately she loved the thick green forests and rivers and lakes that made up the planet's surface. As a child she had fond memories of camping with her parents and this planet instantly reminded her of spots that her parents took her for weekends camping in the summer. As much as she was passionate about science and technology, she also felt comfort in nature. While camping she could indulge in both of her loves, she could learn about the ecosystem and simply appreciate its' beauty too.

She continued to explore the planet some more on the profile and looked at the poles of the planet. Those areas seemed to be in a perpetual state of winter. Bulma also loved winter, so she definitely wanted to see those sides of the planet as well. She believed she had found her planet for her retreat with her husband. Now for the difficult part, convincing him to put training aside and come with her to this new planet.

Bulma looked at the clock. 5:00 PM. Vegeta normally wrapped up whatever training he was doing at home around this time so he could join the family for dinner. He used to be so much more aloof, she remembered, rarely leaving the gravity chamber in the ship. Some progress is better than no progress... she thought as she started heading in the direction of the ship where her husband trained. Now is the time to corner him and lay her plan out.

Bulma pulled up a seat on the patio furniture outside the ship where her husband was undergoing another round of training. After breathing in some of the summer night air, she pulled out her phone and decided to shoot Chi-Chi a text as she waited for him to finish his training.

"I'm doing it. I'm making him go on a vacation. Just the 2 of us. WE need this" she wrote and sent the message. It wasn't long before she got a reply.

"Yay! Happy for u" Chi-Chi wrote back.

"I don't care what he says, we ARE going. Thank you for giving me this idea" Bulma wrote back. A thought crossed her mind, and she sent one more text.

"do u think u can watch Trunks while we're gone? I think all we'll need is a week alone. I don't mean to impose! I'm so sorry!"

Bulma didn't want Trunks to sit around at Capsule Corporation bored out of his mind, possibly worrying about his parents. He deserved to have a good week too and what better way than to spend with friends. Knowing that Trunks was having fun with friends would ease her mind and allow her to focus on herself and Vegeta. Once again, she got a quick reply.

"of course! u know were not doing anything! Goten will be psyched!" the message read. Bulma didn't get a chance to reply as the hatch to the ship began to open. Vegeta stepped out, clad in a grey shirt with blue shorts. He was finally done with his training for the day. He stepped down and Trunks was not far behind him in his typical training gear, a dark green gi with an orange belt. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel wrapped around his neck as he followed his father out of the training room.

"Hey Mom!" Trunks cheerfully greeted his mother.

"Hiya honey, I was wondering where you were hiding. Did you have a good workout?" Bulma asked as she brushed her son's sweaty pink locks to his embarrassment.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry now! When's dinner gonna to be ready?" Trunks replied.

"It'll be a bit. I gotta ask your father about some things first." Bulma said as Vegeta looked over upon hearing the last sentence. "Why don't you see what Grandma and Grandpa are doing? We'll join you soon." Trunks nodded and walked off. Bulma made sure the boy was far away before she turned her attention to her husband who was standing next to a tree in the lawn with his arms folded.

"Hey..." Bulma began. "Can we talk?"

"You already are." Vegeta shot back.

"I guess I'll keep talking... I have a lot on my mind... I've been thinking about everything that happened the last year and realized we never talked about it. It's weighing heavy on me, Vegeta. We have a lot we need to address but I don't think we can get everything addressed in one night." Bulma started.

"Hmph! I think we can get it addressed right now. So, spit it out, what is it that's making you pester me?" Vegeta asked as Bulma paused.

"It's not that simple... one of the problems is I feel we've grown distant, and I don't want this to happen to us... I think you want to talk just like I do, you just don't know how to ask." Bulma said softly. Vegeta turned around, facing the tree in the lawn again.

"That's merely your assumption! So, what do you propose we do if you don't want to figure things out now?" he asked.

"I think we need to be closer again and the way we do that is learn how to be close. I think we should go on a trip to somewhere quiet, just the two of us, and figure all of this out."

"That sounds like a stupid idea. And just put our son aside? And my training?" Vegeta retorted.

"Trunks can stay with Goku's family. He'll be fine. And as for your training, well, what is more important to you at this point? Training or me?" Bulma said quietly as she turned away, her eyes welled with tears. Vegeta was silent as soon as she finished her sentence.

"Do you even want a future with me?" Bulma asked as Vegeta remained silent. "Or do you want to just only train until you die with no one by your side?"

"...I do... I do want you..." Vegeta finally responded quietly, straining against his pride and ego. Bulma walked up to him as he turned back around to face her and placed both of her hands over his, making sure to make eye contact with him.

"Then come with me. Let's finally figure each other out. I don't want to be distant or confused like this anymore. I know you want this too..." Bulma said staring deep into Vegeta's eyes.

"I'll... I will do it..." It was all Vegeta could get out.

"Thank you..." Bulma said softly as she wrapped her arms around Vegeta and pulled him close, resting her head on his chest over his heart. She eventually lifted her head and backed up.

"Let's leave in a couple days. You'll still be able to get some training in here and with Goku. Don't worry about the trip, I'll plan everything and get things set up. All I want is for you to come with me. That's all you need to do." Bulma said as Vegeta nodded.

"Thank you so much Vegeta. You agreeing to do this means a lot to me. This is a sign; I think we can solve our problems together."

Vegeta remained silent as Bulma headed inside for dinner.

"One last thing..." she said as Vegeta turned to look over in her direction. "I know we will be ok after all of this... I love you."