No Regrets [A DBZ Fanfiction]

Chapter 14 - Morning After

Bulma awoke in the warmth of Goku's arms. She leaned over and picked her night dress from the floor and slipped it on. Sitting up she looked down at Goku's sleeping face. He looked so sweet, Bulma thought to herself as she pulled a lock of his hair away from his forehead. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and hopped out of bed.

She would make his breakfast. Bulma wasn't known for her cooking skills but a genius like herself could handle breakfast. Breakfast wasn't a complicated meal like dinner, all she really had to do was to take the food and heat it to the right temperature and serve.

She pulled out eggs and thick cut bacon from the mini fridge and searched the cupboards for the instant pancake mix. She cracked open several eggs over a hot frying pan and could hear Goku start to murmur about his appetite in his sleep. Bulma grinned as she knew the next thing would definitely get him out of bed. The bacon hissed as it sizzled in the frying pan, the succulent aroma wafting in Goku's direction.

"I smell bacon," Goku muttered as he rolled awake.

"Breakfast's almost ready," Bulma promised as she turned to set the little table in her kitchen. Goku was already sitting in his chair with a knife and fork grasped in his hands.

"Kami! You scared me Goku!" Bulma yelled.

"But you said breakfast was ready," Goku replied with a confused look.

"I said it was ALMOST ready," Bulma replied placing her hands on her hips. Goku seemed absolutely puzzled over the definition of the word 'almost'. Bulma scowled and then shrugged, she knew Goku long enough to know that when it came to his appetite, Goku had a one track mind. She piled a hefty serving of pancakes, fried eggs and bacon onto his plate, while only placing a few pancakes on her own plate, topped with strawberries and icing sugar.

Bulma half expected Goku to devour his meal in a few simple seconds, but Goku took his time with each bite. His brow was furrowed as he appeared to be in deep thought as he shovelled food to his mouth. Goku was prolonging his meal because he knew as soon it was over, so was his tryst with Bulma. As long as they were eating their breakfast, they could still pretend to be a happy couple in love that had some kind of future. He was postponing the goodbye he knew he had to give her. After breakfast he had to face what he done with her and end it. Goku's sense of duty dictated it.

He looked up from his plate and caught Bulma staring at him. She had barely touched her meal and was merely toying with her food. She gave him a wistful smile and reached for his hand.

"Since when did you become a slow diner?" Bulma asked. "Am I that bad of a cook?"

Goku squeezed her hand and gave her a half smile.

"Bulma, breakfast is great, really. But I'm not looking forward to the end of it." Goku explained with a shy frown.

"The end of what?" Bulma inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"The end of breakfast. The end of us." Goku replied solemnly. His tone was sombre, which was something that Bulma wasn't accustomed to. Bulma knew she had to take what he said seriously.

"Goku, what do you mean?" Bulma asked.

"Bulma, I will cherish my night with you for the rest of my life, it's everything I imagined it would be and more…"Goku started to say but Bulma placed her palm over his mouth to stop him from saying more.

"But you love your family and I know better. That is where you truly belong, Goku. You don't belong with me," Bulma finished for him as tears prickled the back of her eyes. Goku silently nodded against her palm. On some level she knew that Goku would have to leave her. Even as he held her last night, she knew.

"Thank you for last night, I will treasure these intimate moments together." Bulma rasped, using all of her strength to not start blubbering right in front of him, "but Goku, I need you to leave now. I need to be alone."

"But Bulma, I need to know that you're going to be okay after I leave." Goku said, moving behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders as she sat stoic in her chair.

"Well, don't worry about me Goku. I'm not going to go after the dragonballs and I'll head back home to my parents soon enough." Bulma said, placing her hands in her lap as she stared at her strawberry laden plate. She looked up at him once more, her lower lip trembling from the feeling of her heart splintering as she came to terms that she would never have Goku as anything more than a friend in this lifetime.

"Bulma, still know that you can always count on me if you ever need me," Goku said, gripping her shoulders. Bulma stood up and turned around, tears trickling freely down her cheeks. She held his face in her hand and stared into the face that she loved so much and a face that loved her back.

"Goku, I'm not going to count on you anymore. I can't." Bulma responded teary eyed. "But know that you can count on me. I'll always be here, waiting for you. Although, I don't expect you ever come to me again. I know you too well."

Goku stood silent in Bulma's avowal to their love. He bent his head and kissed her one final time. Her kiss tasted of salt and sorrow. Bulma clung to him, almost unwilling to let him go. He lingered at her lips longer than he should have, but he wanted to commit to memory the shape and feel of her mouth. It almost pained him to separate himself from Bulma.

"Good bye Bulma," Goku said in a heavy whisper and then he teleported out of the Capsule home in a hurry. If Goku remained in Bulma's presence any longer, he knew he could fall back into temptation and have another repeat of last night. Although his heart leapt at the possibility, his conscience couldn't deal with it.

"Goku, goodbye…" she sniffled as she stared out the window at the tall pine tree. The pine tree still held the first dragonball that she was looking for but it didn't hold any allure for her. Goku would never be hers and after the revelations of her pregnancy, she had new problems to solve.

Aside from taking care of the baby growing inside her, she also had tell Vegeta that she was having his kid.