Summary~ The two had practically been inseparable since the day they met. As they grew older, their bond grew stronger. What happens when, eventually, Vegeta is forced into a corner by Frieza? Can they both get past all the blood that is now on his hands? After all, he only did it for her. This is a Vegeta/Bulma AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. Trust me, I really wish I did. If it were up to me, we would be seeing a hell of a let more Vegeta and Bulma action that's for sure. Since, however, I can't make that happen on the screen, I guess I gotta settle for writing it out instead.
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"Vegetaaaaaaa!" His friend Kakarot whined, "hurry up I wanna go!" The ten year old Saiyan boy threw himself on his friend's bed as he and Vegeta's younger brother, Tarble, both impatiently waited for him to finish. All the boys were eager to leave. If only Vegeta could move a little faster.
"Shut up, Kakarot!" The ten year old prince directed a nasty glare at him as he struggled to put on his boots. "I'm going as fast as I can! How was I supposed to know that stupid meeting would last as long as it did?"
Vegeta's father, the king, recently decided that his son was now old enough to begin taking on more princely duties. One of those duties, unfortunately, meant that Vegeta had to sit in during some of his father's meetings and observe what would be expected of him one day. It was all ridiculous, and a waste of time, because he wasn't allowed to do anything while he was there. He wasn't even allowed to have any kind of input to what was going on. It wouldn't have been so bad if he at least had Tarble with him, so he could at least stay a little occupied with someone, but his father wouldn't allow it. Tarble needed to be at least ten years old, like Vegeta, to start attending these things. That meant that Vegeta has to continue to do this alone for another two years. Great.
This meeting was supposed to last an hour; at least that's what his father promised the boy. Instead it ending up taking a little over two, which cut way into his additional free time that he was also promised. As soon as everyone in the meeting was dismissed, Vegeta sprinted as fast as he could to his room to go change. He wasn't surprised to see his best friend and little brother already inside waiting for him.
"Alright, I'm ready!"
The boys all jumped up and dashed out the room. They didn't make it very far though. Right when they made it to the front door, two guards blocked their exit. It was Nappa and Kakarot's older brother Raditz. Raditz recently turned 18, which meant that he was finally of age to begin training as a royal guard. King Vegeta assigned Nappa to teach the young warrior, but unfortunately for the kids, it seemed like the two were more on babysitting duty rather than protecting the palace.
"Raditz" Kakarot whined again, "c'mon move!"
"Not until you three tell me where you're going. You know the rules." Raditz took his new job very seriously. He wasn't about to screw up as soon as he got it, especially not because of some kids, even if they were his brother and the princes.
"We're going out to the forest to spar." Vegeta interrupted while tapping his foot impatiently. They knew fully well what the kids were up to because they go out and spar all the time. Raditz just enjoyed teasing Kakarot, and the boy fell for it every time. Today Vegeta did not have the patience for their brotherly squabble.
"See," Nappa chimed in, "now was that so hard? Listen, don't go out too far like last time, ya hear?" The boys quickly nodded as they inched their way closer to the door. "The king told me you are allowed to have an extra hour today, but only because he has another meeting with King Briefs."
"Father did not tell me that." He said rather blatantly. It was strange for the king to not inform his son of this, even when Vegeta did not have to attend them, his father still made sure he was aware of them. Perhaps it just slipped his mind. It didn't matter very much anyway. That was one less boring meeting he had to suffer through. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Now will you idiots move out the way? You're cutting into our valuable training time."
The two guards chuckled as they granted the eldest prince's request and stepped aside. The boys bombarded through the door. They flew as fast as they could to their normal spot, eager to start. Well, Vegeta and Kakarot anyway. Tarble wasn't much of a fighter. He didn't find the enjoyment of it the way his brother and friend did, and on top of that, he wasn't very strong either. There are some days where he participates with the older boys, but only because his father forces him to when they are sparring at the palace.
Vegeta knew how much his brother didn't like fighting, so he came up with the idea to train in the secluded forest right outside the palace whenever they were allowed to. No one would be watching over them, so Tarble would not have to be forced into it. It worked out perfectly because Tarble loved the scenery. He would just stare at the forest's beauty in awe every time, as if he had never been there before, and took it all in. Sometimes, if it was warm enough, he would swim in the small lake while he watched the two fight from time to time.
He treasured this spot, and he knew his brother did, too. Out there, for whatever time they spent, was time that they weren't princes. There was no pressure to be one out in this forest because the wind would carry it away for them.
Today was a beautiful day.
The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Tarble couldn't remember the last time he felt so relaxed and content. He stripped off his boots and under armor until he was naked, and as free as a bird. He clamped his fingers over his nose, screwed his eyes shut, and jumped into the cool water. As he resurfaced, he swam over to the edge to watch his brother and friend spar.
They were incredible fighters, and not just for their age. They were already as strong, if not stronger, then even some of their guards. It was very impressive, especially for Kakarot. He comes from a third class family. They weren't supposed to be half as strong as he is right now, but like his brother and father, was full of surprises. Of course, Vegeta is still much stronger than Kakarot, which is no surprise because he is a prince and is supposed to be. It's in his blood. The Vegeta family is supposed to be the strongest on the planet. It used to upset Tarble that he wasn't like his brother, and could never make his father quite as proud as him, but he's learned to accept it. It wasn't like he was exactly envious of Vegeta because of his thirst for fighting anyway, so he just let it go.
Besides, he would much rather appreciate the planet rather than fighting on it. He believed fighting tainted its beauty.
A shadow was suddenly cast over him 'How strange,' he thought, 'it's too early for the sun to be going down already.' He looked up, and to his surprise, he saw a young girl looking down at him. Tarble yelled, not expecting anyone else to be in their spot besides the three of them. The girl nearly gave him a heart attack. No one ever went there but them.
The two older boys ran to Tarble as fast as they could to see what was wrong. "Tarble, are you okay?!" Vegeta asked in a panic. He was always very protective over his little brother.
Tarble struggled to lower his heart rate. "Sorry, I got scared because of a girl."
"Dammit, Tarble!" Vegeta exasperated, "you can't just yell like that all because you're thinking of some girl! I thought you were hurt!"
Kakarot kept laughing in the background while Tarble frantically shook his head. "No, it's not like that! A girl here saw me, and I'm naked!" He pointed over to his left to show them while he desperately tried to shield himself with his other hand. She was still standing there, giggling into her hand. They were in such a hurry to get to him that they somehow didn't see her there.
Vegeta was taken aback. She was pale, which brought out the softness to her ocean blue eyes. Her hair was short, about shoulders length, and it matched her eyes perfectly. It was rare for him to see someone on his planet with hair that wasn't either black or brown. It was very strange and foreign to him, but he rather liked it, especially on her.
The girl wrapped a few strands of hair behind her ear as she tried to compose herself. Her smile, he thought, was brighter than the stars themselves on the darkest of nights.
She was beautiful, although he wasn't going to admit that. At least, not out loud anyway.
Suddenly, Vegeta noticed how much taller Kakarot was compared to him. He stood up as straight as he could to try and even the difference out, but it didn't help very much. Vegeta never cared about his height before, but for some reason right now, it seemed to matter to him.
How strange.
Since he couldn't fix the height problem, he decided to puff his chest out more instead. He folded his arms tightly over it, and tried his best to scowl at the stranger. "Who are you, and why are you out here in the woods all by yourself?"
"You guys are out here by yourself," she answered, completely ignoring what he asked.
"That doesn't answer either of my questions" he huffed back.
"Aww give her a break!" Kakarot added, "Don't mind him! He can be a big grump sometimes, but he means well. I'm, Kakarot!" He waved at her as he smiled as much as he could. Then, he points her to the embarrassed prince who was still covering himself in the lake, "And that's, Tarble. And this," he nudged the oldest prince, "is, Vegeta!"
"No way!" Shock written all across her face, "You two must be the Princes! That's so cool! I never met other royalty before."
Vegeta skeptically narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean other?"
"I'm princess, Bulma!"
The three boys looked at each other and shrugged. None of them knew who she was. Vegeta took a few steps closer to her and smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure. Listen, just because that's what your parents call you before they tuck you into bed at night, doesn't mean you actually are one. Sorry to break it to you, girl."
"First of all," she stomped her foot. Who were they to say who she was and wasn't? Some nerve! "my name isn't girl. It's, Bulma! Second of all, yes I am! My dad is King Briefs, and he's at a meeting with yours right now! Some prince you are if you didn't even know that." She stuck her nose in the air to emphasize her point.
"I knew about the meeting!" Vegeta shouted defensively as he balled his hands into a fist, "I just didn't know he had a daughter! In fact, I didn't even know there was a King Briefs until this morning! Why is he here and why are you out in this forest alone then if you're his daughter?"
Bulma sat on the tree stump behind her as she began to play with her hair. "To answer your first question, we are actually your neighboring empire, although I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us before. Our people, the Aquians, are not known for our strength like you Saiyans. We are, however, extremely intelligent. My father, and even myself, are among some of the smartest in this galaxy. He wanted to speak with your father and ask he if would like to become allies. It would benefit both our nations greatly." She continued to comb her fingers through her hair, now kicking her feet up and down as she was still sitting on the stump. "As for being out here, I didn't feel like waiting in the palace by myself. I had no idea how long my dad would take, and I didn't plan on boring myself to death in there, so I decided to take a look around here. I somehow made it out over here, and was going to stick my feet in the water, but stopped when I saw him" she finished as she pointed to, Tarble.
"Oh, okay I guess." Vegeta answered awkwardly.
"Can you guys do me a favor?" She asked tentatively. Kakarot and Tarble enthusiastically nodded yes, while Vegeta just grunted his response. "Can you take me back to the palace? I think my dad should be done by now, so I have to go, but I kind of don't remember how to get back."
"Some genius you are," Vegeta laughed in her face, a face that turned from pale to red in second, "who goes deep into a forest for the first time, by themselves, without figuring a way to get back out?"
She hopped off the stump and started stomping away from the rude boy. "Fine then, don't help me! I'll find my way eventually if all you're going to do is insult me!"
Vegeta caught her wrist with his tail before she could get very far. "Relax. We'll take you back. Besides, it's much faster getting out of here if you know how to fly, which I'm sure you don't know how to do." The scrunched up defeat on her face proved his case. "That's what I thought."
They waited for Tarble to dry off and put his clothes on before they left. Once they were all ready, without warning, Vegeta scooped her up and took off with the others close behind him. To his surprise, she didn't scream once. She just squeezed her arms tighter around his neck and burrowed her face into his chest. Heat flooded into his cheeks, so he refused to look down at her, even for a second. He didn't want to take the chance of her seeing him like that.
Eventually they made it back, and just in time because her father walked out and was ready to leave. A part of him wished he didn't fly as fast as he did. He wanted an excuse to be around her for a little while longer. Hopefully his father agreed to King Brief's proposition.
All he wanted was to see her again.
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A/N: I want to make a few quick points before I end this chapter. Yes, I know Goku is supposed to be younger than Vegeta, but in my story I want them to be the same age. No real reason, I just do. Bulma is also the same age as them.
Also, for the sake of the story, I want to have Planet Vegeta like Earth in the sense that there are different races and nationalities, therefore other Kings and Kingdoms.
Oh, and no, Bulma doesn't have a tail.
Please let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed this so far!
