Vindicated

I’m back! Here is Chapter 4. As you can see, I’m trying to follow along with the lyrics, but it’s going to stop working soon….oh well.

Disclaimer: Yes it’s true. I don’t own DB/Z/GT or any of it’s characters.

Vindicated Chapter 4 I Knew It All Along.

“I was under the impression that you maybe things weren’t going so well between us because of the youth difference. I was wrong, wasn’t I, Vegeta?”

Bulma sat down on the bed gently and tried not to cry. She had never felt so helpless and unwanted. It wasn’t as if Vegeta ever paid all the much attention to their relationship, but it was more often lately that he would pay almost no attention to her at all. When he did, he was hostile and bothered.

But she knew. She knew it all along.

There was always a method to Vegeta’s madness, and this time, it was no different. It was the same person, every time.

He got to Vegeta every time.

The only thing that was different was the way he was getting to her husband. Over the years, their rivalry slowly morphed into a friendship of sorts, though Vegeta would never admit it. She was alright with them being friends, it was what she wanted.

Then something changed. If Bulma could have fooled herself, she would say that it was him that changed. She didn’t want to believe that it was her very own husband that was the one that initiated the one sided transition.

Vegeta…wasn’t that kind of man.

But he was that kind of man and it was he that changed.

At first, she thought he was attempting to deny it, as he did everything else. That would have hurt more than it helped, but she couldn’t resist wishing that he had fought hard enough to repress those feeling, even if it did hurt him. Then one day he buckled down and just accepted it. Just like that. It wasn’t a long battle, though she was sure it could have been fiercer. She saw that change in him. It was mild, but she instantly recognized it for what it was. And now he was being torn apart day by day, taking it out on the ones he should care about the most.

Son-kun wasn’t her friend anymore.

Vegeta stood in front of her, willing himself not to answer, but he could see plain as day that he was hurting her more than he ever had. He didn’t want to hurt her he just couldn’t stand being the only one in pain. She was dying, he knew, and he never wanted to make her feel that way. He forgave her a long time ago for not being the person suited to make him happy. He stayed. He never held up a hand to raise their children, but what mattered was that he was there. It was all he could offer them at the time. Bulma took him in stride, suffering the burdens of child rearing on her own. Even though she complained a lot, she never once threatened to stop. He had been hurting her for years.

“Woman I---

“It’s Bulma. Just once Vegeta, call me Bulma.” She said quietly and turned her neck down.

“Bulma…..”

“You don’t have to lie to me I already know. I’ve probably known as long as you have.” She gave him a small, sad smile and averted her eyes again. She wanted to laugh out loud at the irony of it all. The man he had put his own family aside to kill was now the man he put his family aside to….

What? Love? Did Vegeta love him?

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Love him. Do you love him?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me. Please don’t. I told you, you don---

“I don’t love that low class burden! I hate him!”

“Are you sure?” The question made him pause for a brief second and that was all she needed to derive answer. He wasn’t sure. In fact, he was still lying. To her and himself.

“How much longer can you do that?”

“Do what!?” Vegeta gripped at a lock of his flame like Saiyan hair and groaned. He didn’t want to lie. He was not an immoral person. He had to lie. He didn’t have a chance now. It wasn’t too late to come crawling back with his tail between his legs, as sad as that sounded. Kakarot would never be his. It was time for Vegeta to cut his loses and move on.

Bulma silently rolled her eyes up to meet his to find him staring down at her. Crystalline tears welled up in her cerulean eyes.

“I did. I loved him, once. I don’t love him anymore.”

She couldn’t tell this time if he were lying. It would be just…too good to be true. He didn’t love Goku anymore. Did he? Was he just saying that because he couldn’t have him? Bulma was an intelligent woman and knew deep in her heart that there was a chance that he was trying to justify that to himself and he was going to fail. She would take it. She would take anything she could get. Vegeta was hers. His heart, his mind, his body, belonged to her. Not Goku. Not ever.

“I love you. Do you love me, Vegeta?” She knew. Of course he didn’t. But he wanted peace of mind, and so did she. She would take him back if only he’d say those words.

“Wom---Bulma.” Vegeta walked as far away from her as the tiny room allowed and began to pace. He could…he could tell her. That was what she wanted to hear. So why couldn’t he say it?

*I don’t want to hurt her.*

“Yes, Vegeta?”

/Say it/

It’s a lie.

/Say it/

She’ll know I am not telling her---

/Say it. She wants to hear it. You know she does even if it isn’t true/

“I do love you. I haven’t…stopped. Kakarot was simply a distraction. We won’t be hearing from him ever again.”

Bulma’s heart fell apart in her chest. She knew she wanted to hear it. She didn’t know it would hurt so much when the obvious lie fell on her waiting ears. She thought that if she heard it, for the first time he’d ever said it to her, that it would sound good, feel good. She could make herself, force herself to believe it. She was crushed but she smiled anyway and got up to close the distance between them.

“Thank you Vegeta. It means a lot to me.” It meant nothing. Nothing at all. Vegeta accepted her hug and put one arm around her. He didn’t feel a thing for this woman, and he supposed he never did. Still, it felt nice to have someone to love him even when it was unrequited. The irony shook him to the core. He was being unfair. He was being heartless. That was the way things were. He could not love her anymore than Kakarot could have any feelings for him.

He cared for the blue haired woman sobbing in his arms. He loved her as the mother of his children and nothing else. Maybe that was enough. But he knew better than anyone that Bulma was not stupid. She knew that was all her felt for her and it was the only reason she was crying. It was all she had. And at least someone needed him. He decided that he needed her as well, even if it was only to drown his feelings for the younger Saiyan. The understanding they had between them made Vegeta feel guilty for falling for some who couldn’t give a shit less whether he was happy or not. All she wanted was to make him feel wanted. He couldn’t fault her for that.

Bulma stepped back and turned around. She wanted to search his eyes, but she knew she would find nothing but remorse and pity. She didn’t even want to see. “I’m going to see Trunks now. Do you want to come?”

He hadn’t seen his son in months. “Sure why not?” Trunks would not be happy to see him. He never was.

Just as he thought, it wasn’t a very pleasant visit to his son’s presidential office. The boy sneered at him and asked his mother why he was there.

“You never came before. Let me guess, something in it for you?”

Vegeta ignored him. The brat was just upset. He had every right to be, for Vegeta had avoided him practically since the day he was born and pushed him too hard when he was only a child. Never would he take a moment out of his rigorous workout to take Trunks to the park, or share a meal with him. Those were days Trunks would not soon forget.

The young man had obviously been expecting his mother, but when he saw that she had his father in tow, he was suddenly very busy. He thought it was a good idea if she left and took Vegeta with her.

“No use talking to her now. I may disgust his royal highness.” Trunks muttered under his breath. It wasn’t low enough for Vegeta not to hear. His feelings weren’t hurt; in fact it made him proud the boy had so much sass. Like his mother. But Trunks was too human for him and he knew it. He knew he was a burden to his Saiyan Prince father; it wasn’t as if Vegeta didn’t make it obvious.

The only time he even acknowledged the lavender haired demi-Saiyan as his son, was when he was minutes away from killing himself. He hadn’t even allowed Trunks a few minutes to enjoy the feeling; he had knocked him out.

“I can’t even bother to apologize, can I?” Bulma smiled. While the obviously dislike for each other Trunks and his father had, she also found it amusing because their son was so much like both of them; a loud mouth smart ass with a knack for pissing people off. Vegeta was right. Trunks was too much like her. She sighed. Apparently, that was a problem. It was why her husband was more attracted to someone of his own species than her, a lowly human. Temperament was simply not enough to match a Saiyan’s standards. Goku had all that and more. Much more.

In the beginning, his disdain for the lower rank Saiyan had made Bulma furious. She tried all she could to make them get along. But Vegeta clearly wasn’t in need of a friend. So of course it thrilled her when he began spending time training with Goku. Finally there would be some form of peace between them. And although Vegeta always came home, beat up and grouchy, cursing Goku out and calling him all sorts of names, she could see that it was half hearted. Vegeta went from hating the younger man, to attempting to hate him.

And Bulma, the naïve woman she was, didn’t see what that change could have meant until it was too late. What made her even angrier about it was that Goku obviously did not favor Vegeta the way the Prince did him. Either he was oblivious or stupid. Or both.

Just as well, Goku’s obliviousness was the only thing she could account for saving their relationship, if that was what anyone cared to call it. She could have Vegeta until death did them part and although death wasn’t too far off for the blue haired genius, she inwardly smiled. He was hers again. Even if his heart went out to and ached for another, she wasn’t about to be picky.

Vegeta shook his head. It was no use carrying on the way he was. He had a family, and a woman that loved him no matter what. Kakarot had nothing for him. He would forget him and move on. But Vegeta was no fool. His heart belonged to the earth raised sorry excuse for a Saiyan idiot. And in return he got nothing. Bulma could give him something, and while it wasn’t what he needed, he was not about to be picky either. But he had nothing to give her in return. He couldn’t love her. He couldn’t even try.

He glanced at her. He wanted to say he was going to train for the better portion of the day, but he didn’t. He would stay with her. He wouldn’t enjoy it, but he’d stay. Besides, training had lost its significance because he had no challenge to meet. His main challenge was of course Kakarot but he failed. He failed every time.

“We could go to dinner tonight. Or we could go on a trip. Maybe---

“Stop Bulma. We don’t need to do anything. You can do what it is you normally do and I will watch you.” She didn’t need to entertain him. He would entertain himself. The usual way. Think of Kakarot.

He may have been devoting himself to Bulma, but his thoughts were ensnared by thoughts of the younger Saiyan he could not have. He couldn’t help it. His mind refused to go anywhere else. He tried to shake it off but it was useless. If he couldn’t have the idiot buffoon, at least he could think about him.


Bulma watched him stare off into space. She knew what he was thinking. It was obvious the way his hands clenched at his sides and his face grew serious. She couldn’t deprive him of his thoughts. But if she could, she would. She would eliminate everything that he felt for Goku just to give him peace. That man plagued her husband, everyday he locked himself up in the Gravity Room under the pretenses of training. Of course, she knew better. She spent a great deal of her time watching him. Wishing she could have him think of her the way he thought of Goku.

If only Goku were human, surely he wouldn’t be as attractive to Vegeta as he clearly was. But alas, Goku was everything she was not; strong, aggressive, and Saiyan. Not much else in between. Vegeta would never accept for that. Nothing would change the fact that all she was good for were free meals and a warm bed. There was nothing special about her. Sure she was intelligent, but her brain would never be enough to keep her husband where she felt in her heart that he should really be.

“You’re going to worry yourself to death thinking about that one day.” Vegeta said smugly. Bulma wasn’t surprised. Just because he could feel her emotions didn’t mean she could control them. They were bonded by their children. It wasn’t the bond Bulma was hoping they could forge over the years; it was more of a bond of necessity, like paying child support.

“You turned out to be quite negative. It’s not your best trait now.”

“Can you blame me?”

Vegeta raised his head and look away. “I suppose I can’t.” They both knew what was going on. Despite what they had agreed on, it was really only a matter of time before one of them relented.

Bulma knew in her heart that it would be her.


END OF CHAPTER 4.

Ahhhh, it does feel nice continuing this story. I know it took a while, but hopefully you all heeded my warning and realize that I can’t update that fast. Anyway, all the chapters are going to be about this length.