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Vegeta was training in the gravity room for a while, like always, trying to get stronger, as usual, and it was a while until he finally decided to turn off the extra gravity and leave the room to get a snack.
After all, he can’t workout on an empty stomach.
Vegeta’walking to the kitchen, he noticed Bulma was crying at the table’
Bulma:’Sitting in a chair, she was hiding her face in her hands, as if she didn’t want anyone to see her cry at all’
Vegeta normally would assume it was something stupid or silly, like her shopping or her anger issues or some earthling activity…but when he looked into his mate’s eyes, his instincts acted up as he could tell she was genuinely upset about something.
Vegeta:’walks towards bulma’Is something bothering you?
He knew it was a silly question that he knew the answer to, but he very often struggled with how to properly connect with people he cared about.
he could thank his father and Frieza for that
Due to this, he usually did his own way about figuring things out with three steps.
Ask questions, wait for a reaction, decide further.
Bulma:’wiping off her tears’I-I was just thinking.
Vegeta:’raises an eyebrow’You seem to be thinking quite hard, if whatever it is has driven you to tears.
Bulma:….*sighs* I was talking to some old college friends today, and I walked away to get a drink….i heard them talking about me, a-and they said how I was such a bad person and how most of them only stayed with me because of my money or my looks…..
Vegeta:’scoffs’Puny weaklings, always looking for something to put other people down, Did you put them in their place?
Bulma: I was going to but then…’tears fell down her face’Vegeta, I realized they were right….
Vegeta turned his head so fast that if he went any faster, he could have dislocated his own neck.
Vegeta: What?!
Bulma: I AM smart, beautiful, rich….but I’m not a good person.
Vegeta: Bulma-
Bulma: ‘upset’ A-and the beauty isn’t even natural! I wished on the dragon balls to make myself younger every few years, it’s fake! And yes I wished to be a saiyan and I don’t have to worry about that anymore but THIS ‘gesturing to her gorgeous body’ isn’t what I naturally looked like! And my personality is even worse!
Vegeta: Well-
Bulma: And don't even try to defend me because you know it's true, You know very well that I'm not a good person and I have a history of doing so many things.
Vegeta: You didn't even let me get the chance to speak.
Bulma: Because I know what you were going to say, Something about pride and how I shouldn’t let it bother me, and all that crap.
Vegeta wanted to argue, but he knew that Bulma had a point there, so he kept his mouth shut.
Bulma:’Holding herself with tears in her eyes’Ever since childhood I’ve always been selfish. Just a spoiled rich girl who got whatever she wanted…I didn’t even finish highschool because I used my money and brain as an excuse to graduate early and finish college, I could have done so much more to help people and instead I wasted time going on a hunt for dragon balls just to wish for a boyfriend! And then when I got with Yamcha, I did everything I could to change him, From his outfit and hair, to his fucking accent! I call myself “Goku’s big sister” but I did NOTHING to help him as a kid, Yamcha earned the title as his big brother, I didn’t earn anything…I even used Goku just to get his dragon ball and give myself an 11 year old bodyguard! He looked like he was 6 years old and I didn’t even know his age!
Vegeta just stayed silent, letting bulma rant was a way to get all her emotions out, and hopefully calm her breathing down or she would turn as purple as Trunks’ hair.
Bulma: ‘whimpering’ A-and that wasn’t enough! No I also had to constantly accuse him of things without evidence and- Vegeta I HURT him. More than once! More than just with words! I hit him all the time and punished him for things he couldn’t control…I-I said he….
Bulma couldn’t even finish her sentence before she broke down crying into her hands again, she was thinking of all the times Yamcha was visibly uncomfortable with touching, she went ahead holding him and asking for sex- or worse, getting angry at him for the other girls touching him when he was clearly scared of them?
Vegeta:’holds her hands’1.
Bulma: Huh?
Vegeta: I'll count, you just breathe.
Bulma was shocked, realizing that vegeta was trying to help her calm down, so she took a deep breath.
Vegeta: 2.
Bulma:’lets out the breathe’
Vegeta: 1.
Bulma:’takes a deep breath’
Vegeta: 2.
Bulma:’breathes out’
They continued to do this until bulma was finally able to breathe properly. When she finally could, she spoke again.
Bulma: How did you learn how to do that?
Vegeta: Kakarot and Broly were showing me TV shows and I saw this method being used to calm someone down, so I tried it out and it actually worked.
Bulma:’smiles’I knew you liked hanging out with goku and Broly.
Vegeta: ‘scoffs’ Lies.
Bulma chuckled a bit.
Vegeta: ‘holding her face’ I know you want to let out more, you can’t just keep everything bottled up forever, you’ll have another panic attack if you do.
Bulma: I just……I just don’t know what to do……I know I can't do anything about what I've done in the past, I've done so many awful things.
Vegeta: ‘pulls her close to his shoulder’ You don’t need to say all of them, but you can say a few more if it helps.
Bulma: maybe it will help……
She sighs and touches her head.
Bulma: I just feel so awful because in the past, I always made myself to be the victim, I always managed to get people on my side, even if it was my fault.
She sighs and leans close to vegeta.
Bulma: I did so many horrible things to yamcha, especially when I met you, I cheated on him and he even walked in on us having sex.
Vegeta:’raises an eyebrow a her’
Bulma: I’ll never regret loving you and marrying you and having our children…But I shouldn’t have done that to Yamcha, I should have broken up with him YEARS before we even met each other. It wasn’t right of me to keep him, not when I knew I was looking for his “replacement”.
Vegeta: I see.
Bulma: And even back then, I was a horrible mother to Kiara to the point that she almost killed herself, because of me, Twice!
She felt tears forming in her eyes again.
Bulma: I-I even used my friends for my own gain, like Goku, I tricked him since he had one of the dragon balls, and used him as a bodyguard, he was just a little kid who had no idea what was going on, and I took advantage of that, not to mention how I sent him to a mental hospital where he was abused by one of the nurses.
She quickly wipes her tears away and hides her face in her shoulder.
Bulma: I even got mad at Yamcha when he picked Goku over me, but Goku was just a kid and basically Yamcha’s little brother, Yamcha earned the title of being his big brother, I didn't earn my title of his big “sister”. Yamcha is right, I don’t have ANY rights when it comes to Goku. Yamcha raised him into the man he is today, all I ever did was criticize him or use him.
Vegeta: You were under the impression-
Bulma:-That he cheated on me, but I have NOTHING to back that up. I never had any proof….
Vegeta: What are you talking about?
Bulma: I assumed he was cheating because he had women’s clothes, he smelled like perfume, he had pads and tampons and…..He’s transgender and intersex, All I did was accuse him because of things that he needed or made him happy.
Vegeta: You had no way to know any of that.
Bulma: Maybe I didn’t, But I DID have a way of knowing when he was uncomfortable, He was BLUSHING at girls, but he was also scared and shaking and pushing them off and-…..’covers her mouth’….I blamed him when he and Maron had sex.
Vegeta: So he did cheat on you?
Bulma: No you don’t understand….M-Maron was forcing herself on him.
Vegeta was actually shocked by this.
Bulma:‘whimpering’A-and I was so mad, I was just looking for someone to blame….I have so much to apologize and make up for….
Vegeta:’holds her hand’
Bulma:’looks at him’
Vegeta: We all did bad stuff, I've done a lot of shit in the past, yet you looked behind all of that and stayed with me, I’ve murdered innocent beings of all ages, Destroyed planets and sold them, I’ve committed unforgivable acts, And yet you stood by me, and chose me, You even did the incredible and wished to become a SAIYAN for me, that way you could better understand me.
Bulma:‘squeezing his hands’Because I love you.
Vegeta: And that’s why I stayed with you ‘holds bulma close to him’ I…..’breathes’ I love you too…even if I don’t say that often, you KNOW what I mean‘Holds her hands to his chest, wrapping his tail around hers’You KNOW how I feel…..
Bulma:’smiles and leans close to him’