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It was the way he phrased things sometimes that made her start to wonder. It was perhaps something she never would have noticed if it had been anyone else, but Vegeta was so blunt and impolite that certain things just stood out more.
He always talked about him and Goku like a unit and would get royally pissed whenever Goku went off and did things without him. Goku always figured into his plans regardless of what they were. The two of them were never polite to one another and bickered like a couple, but Bulma always thought that was probably an alien thing or a Vegeta thing. She’d barely even noticed when Vegeta stopped calling Gohan “Kakarott’s kid” and just referred to him as “the brat”. Then when Trunks and Goten were born he switched to referring to all of them collectively as “the brats”. It was just a thing he did and certainly didn’t pique her interest.
So maybe any of those things should have lit a lightbulb for her, but even so, it was something else that really had things sliding into place for her.
“Gohan’s new form is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Maybe now he’ll think twice about slacking off. Kakarott has been far too lenient until now. When we agreed that Piccolo should train the brats, I assumed he’d be stricter.”
To an outsider, perhaps nothing would seem terribly out of place or unusual, but to Bulma, there was a sentiment she just couldn’t possibly ignore. A sentiment she maybe should have picked up on before. “The way you said that sounds as if you’re Gohan’s father.”
Vegeta made a face, “Well I obviously didn’t father him, but if there’s an Earth word for it, tell me.”
“A word for what?”
“For being the second father. When your partner has children.”
Bulma felt something bubbling up into her chest. “Do you mean… step-father?”
Vegeta snapped his fingers, “Yes. That. I remember now.” He barely even looked up at her as he shovelled more rice into his face.
The bubble was making its way to her face. Her lips turning up at the ends, “You being Gohan’s step-father would mean you’re married to his parent.”
Vegeta frowned, “Married? Like the big party Gohan and Videl had? Completely garish. Saiyan relationships are far less pompous. On Vegetasei we didn’t need terms like step-father.”
Bulma could hardly keep herself in check, she was tingling right down to her fingertips. “Are you saying that you and Son-kun are… married?”
Vegeta’s frown deepened. “By Saiyan standards. Of course.”
The bubble burst and Bulma couldn’t breathe because she was laughing too hard. Tears streamed from her eyes and when she finally caught her breath, she looked up at Vegeta’s enraged expression. A piece of rice was stuck to his cheek.
“What are you laughing at?” he demanded.
“How could you and Son-kun be married? He has a wife!”
Vegeta scowled at her. “Kakarott’s Earth wife is of no concern to me. It makes sense for him to retain his ties to her as she is the mother of his children.”
Bulma sobered a little. “Oh shit. You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Kakarott and I have been… united, for a long time.”
Bulma was staring at him, “What do you mean?”
Vegeta crossed his arms, “Well… it started the first time we fought.”
Bulma felt her mouth drop open. “That can’t be true.”
“Of course it is! We solidified our bond through combat!”
“But you took us hostage on Namek!”
Vegeta rolled his eyes, “I barely did anything to any of you. And when Frieza killed me, Kakarott avenged me, as our bond dictated.”
“He avenged Krillin too. Does that mean he’s married to him too?”
“Krillin isn’t a Saiyan.”
“So that’s how it works? You fight and then you’re married?”
“No,” he scoffed, “You must prove that you’re equals first and foremost.”
She knew that this was a very sensitive subject, “And… you did that?” implying that Vegeta might not be at Goku’s level had always been a no-go.
“Of course!” he snapped.
Vegeta sniffed and Bulma noticed the pink pop onto his cheeks.
“I don’t know what it was like on Vegetasei, but for Earthlings, you can’t just marry someone without asking them first.”
Vegeta scowled at her, “We’re not Earthlings.”
Bulma was worried. If Vegeta and Goku had never actually talked this through, perhaps Vegeta had the wrong idea. She felt bad for him. If Goku had no idea, would it break Vegeta’s heart? She felt protective of that, at least. They were maybe not the most traditional type of pairing, but she did feel partly responsible for him anyway. Not just as the father of her kids, but as a friend, partner, and as someone who cared about him.
She didn’t press Vegeta for any more information, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. What if this was one massive misunderstanding? She thought about talking to Chi-Chi about it, but she wasn’t sure that that wouldn’t make matters worse if Vegeta really did have the wrong idea.
Instead, she caught Goku out in the garden outside his house where he had been weeding but was now dozing under the shade of a tree.
“Hey,” she said, nudging him as she sat down beside him. “I have something important to talk to you about.”
Goku yawned as he opened his eyes, “Huh? Bulma? What’s up?”
Bulma inhaled, “Son-kun, how exactly would you describe your relationship with Vegeta?”
Goku quirked an eyebrow at her, “Whaddya mean?”
Bulma sniffed, it was weirdly awkward to be bringing it up like this. It was almost like having ‘the talk’ with him all over again. “I mean how do you feel about him?”
Goku didn’t look any less confused. He crossed his arms and tilted his head. “He’s a strong guy. He’s smart. But he always eats my side of the cha-han when he thinks I’m not looking.”
Okay, so surface level stuff? This wasn’t exactly boding well.
“And so you’re… friends? Rivals?”
Goku cocked his head again, “Well… I don’t know about friends really. And rival is a bit…”
Bulma’s heart sank. Could it be that Goku saw Vegeta as nothing more? How was she supposed to break this news to Vegeta? It pained her to think that all this time Vegeta had imagined them as some sort of duo and Goku didn’t feel the same.
Bulma felt compelled to fix this. “Really? You wouldn’t count him as one of your friends?”
Goku made a face, “Like Krillin and Piccolo and Tien Shin Han?” he laughed, “No way.”
Bulma felt herself getting worked up. How dare he be so cavalier about this! Real people were getting hurt! She felt her eyes get wet. “Really?” she demanded, “After everything you’ve been through together. You still don’t think of him as a friend?”
Goku looked shocked at her expression, “Whoa, are you crying?”
“Do you even know how he feels about you? How absolutely obsessed he is with being your equal? Do you even care?”
She had risen to her feet and Goku followed. He tried to put a hand on her shoulder but she batted him away.
“Hey Bulma, what are you saying?” he asked.
“I’m saying he loves you, you stupid dolt! He thinks of you as partners.”
Goku just tilted his head again, “Well, yeah. I know that.”
This set Bulma from sad to angry, she smacked him on the arm several times in quick succession, “What do you mean you know? If you are playing with him, I swear to Kami-sama, I will end you.”
Goku let her hit him. He winced. Probably not from the pain of her blows, but her words. “Why are you angry? I’m not playing anythin’. We’ve been partners for years.”
Bulma stopped her assault and stared at him.
Goku let his guard down again when she stopped assaulting him.
“Since when?” she demanded.
Goku rubbed the back of his neck. He crossed his arms, thinking. “Well I guess it started when we met but I didn’t really understand it. Then when we Fused while fighting Buu… I finally understood everything and well, that settled that. So friends or rivals doesn’t really cover it…”
Bulma hit her fist into her palm, “Ah. And that’s why he said you’d never talked about it. You didn’t have to! The fusion cohesion would have merged your consciousness too!”
Bulma had always wondered what Fusion was like. She’d hated the idea of it at first, but they all had to admit that it was one of the most amazing things they’d ever seen. She was still happy they had returned to their own personhoods, though things had been different after that. Now she understood why.
“So that’s when…” she hummed, “So Saiyan marriage is just that easy, huh? What about divorce?”
Goku looked just a tad embarrassed, “Well nothing can end a Saiyan bond except a direct challenge.”
He must have absorbed Vegeta’s knowledge about Saiyan heritage too when they Fused.
“What kind of challenge?”
“Well, like, if you wanted to be Vegeta’s battle partner, you’d have to challenge me first.”
Bulma tapped a finger to her chin, “I see.”
Goku’s eyes flashed for a second, dark and dangerous, “Do you think you could win against me?”
Oh wow, she thought, that’s a side of him I’ve never seen before. His voice was deep, threatening. Highly unnerving. She found his possessiveness just a bit cute.
She waved her hands at him, “What? Me? No! No! Have him. Take him. I don’t care. As long as he looks after the kids sometimes, he can do whatever he wants.”
Just as quickly as it appeared, the shadows around him vanished and he was the same bright and bubbly person he always was.
“Goku-sa! Lunch time!” Chi-Chi had come outside to call him in.
Well, it was now or never, Bulma supposed.
“Chi-Chi-san! Did you know Son-kun and Vegeta are married by Saiyan standards?”
Chi-Chi didn’t look phased in the least. “Didn’t you?”
Bulma glared at Goku, “No! No one said anything to me!”
Goku laughed in his boyish way, “Sorry Bulma, we didn’t think you’d care.”
“I care that you are my kids’ step-dad apparently and you don’t lift a damn finger! You’d think having three parents around, I might get a break once in a while.”
Goku grimaced, “You know I’m not very good with kids…”
“I don’t care! If you’re Saiyan-married to my partner, then you’re Saiyan-babysitting once in a damn while!”
“Sheesh, okay!” Goku grumbled.
Bulma turned back to Chi-Chi, “And when did they tell you?”
Chi-Chi looked thoughtful for a moment, “Hmm… I don’t recall exactly. It was shortly after we were all resurrected after Buu. Vegeta-san showed up with enough vegetables and meat to last us a month and said something about it then… and since then, he stops by with gifts occasionally.”
“What the hell?” Bulma glared, “He never brings me any gifts.”
“Well technically,” Chi-Chi said, still looking thoughtful, “I believe by Saiyan tradition, it’s Goku-sa who should bring you gifts. You’re the partner of his partner after all.”
Ah. Some kind of Saiyan child support.
Bulma turned back to Goku who was grinning sheepishly. “But you’re already rich!” he said.
“I’ll be expecting a lot of gifts from you!” Bulma yelled at him while she headed back to her airship, “Years worth!”
“Aw man,” Goku whined.
But Bulma felt so much better. She could probably get him to do the Dragon Ball gathering for a next little while. It would give her time to catch up on work.
She hummed to herself as she fired up her ship and waved at Chi-Chi as she took off.
Well, the four of them sure weren’t conventional couples, but thank Kami-sama for that.