Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Hey, everyone! Okay, so I got the idea for this a couple months ago, and I hadn't actually gotten around to writing it. But I managed to power through tonight. Here's some Vegeta/Bra fluff. I hope you like it!

Something was amiss.

It was late when Vegeta finally shut down the gravity simulator calling it a night from his intense training. As normal, the house was silent, but something was definitely off. Over the years, Vegeta had become highly attuned to the energies of his family. No, he didn't spy on them with his ki sense, but he could always sense when they were there, at home, safe in bed. Everyone was always in bed before him. After dinner, his family would spend some time together which he made a point to partake in even if he wanted to be alone. He had come a long way and refused to take his family for granted. Never again.

Sometimes Trunks or Bra would go out with their friends, and sometimes the former on dates, but they had curfews to uphold set by the woman. Vegeta enforced them alongside her giving Trunks a rough training session those nights where he was late by a half-hour. He never had to worry about Bra. She was always home on time.

Except now.

His eyes shifted to the clock, the white, porcelain face mocking him. Bulma had gone to bed right after their family time, exhausted from her day at work. Trunks, well he had had homework, so he locked himself away for the night as well. Both were asleep and accounted for. His little princess was not, and that left him feeling unsettled.

Bra had left with a couple of brats from her class, a couple girls and, to Vegeta's dismay, boys, who planned to go out for dinner and see a movie. She was told to be home by ten. The clock read two. Bra never came home that late.

He knew something had to be wrong.

He couldn't sense his daughter anywhere which could only mean one thing, at least to him. He knew she was fine, but she was concealing her presence. Why, he had no idea. He would never entertain the idiotic thought that his daughter had been physically harmed. No one on this planet could ever hurt his princess. She could definitely hold her own.

The front door creaked open, and he heard the voice of his little girl muttering a curse. He smirked. The teenager inherited both his and her mother's attitude. He decided to wait in place, arms crossed as he stood tall. Whatever had kept her out, this would be the first and last time she ever returned this late.

Bra tried creeping the house silently, cautiously looking around. She didn't need to be caught. When she had returned, the GR had been off meaning her father was already in bed. That was a lucky break for her. It meant she could get to her room and pass out for the night. That was what she desperately wanted.

When she entered the family room, she froze and looked up at her father guiltily, his eyes narrowed at her. "Welcome back. I wasn't aware that it was still ten."

The princess gripped the staircase banister and sighed. "I'm sorry, daddy."

"Bra, sorry doesn't cut it," Vegeta replied curtly, his voice lacking bite. To be honest, he sounded more worried than angry. "You know that you could have called if you'd be a little late, but four hours is completely cutting it."

His daughter nodded, her eyes sincere yet troubled. Vegeta could see right through her. "It won't happen again."

"Bra…"

"But it's fine," she started to ramble. "I mean, I don't mind being grounded."

"Bra," Vegeta tried to interject.

But the princess continued. "It's not like I was planning on going out again any time soon." Vegeta tried to call her again, but her name fell on deaf ears. "Anyway, I'll see you in the morning bright and early for your training punishment like you do for Trunks. Good night."

She turned to flee up the stairs, but her father's voice stopped her. "Eschalot."

Well, that was a surefire way to shut her up.

Bra looked down at her feet feeling a sting in her heart. That name, that was her Saiyan name, a name her father had never gotten the chance to bestow upon her. He had told her that name when she was old enough to appreciate him and her heritage. He never spoke it around her mother or Trunks. This name was a secret between them, and she knew that he meant business. She turned her head to face him, the sadness in her eyes evident. He was disappointed in her; she could tell. Or was he simply searching for answers?

Her question was answered not even a second later. "Why did you come home so late?" Vegeta questioned. Bra opened her mouth to speak, but he added very gruffly, "Tread carefully with how you answer. The next words out of your mouth better not have been 'I was screwing a boy,' got it?"

The teenager couldn't help but smile as she tossed a loose strand of blue hair back. "I wasn't," she admitted. "Mom said I can't date until I'm sixteen."

"Try thirty," Vegeta grunted thinking even that was too soon. His eyes met those of his little girl. Hers were full of amusement. "Then where were you? Out with your friends at this hour?"

That's when Bra's expression soured. "No, I left them five hours ago," she disclosed. "I was getting tired of it."

"Tired of what?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "Pretending to be someone I'm not," she whispered. "That and they were just being annoying. Now I know why Trunks had such a hard time making friends when he was my age. And I made fun of him for it!"

Vegeta winced at how her voice became slightly shrill when she made her exclamation. She looked incredibly upset when she said it, so Vegeta offered her the only bit of comfort. "Trunks never cared about your teasing. If I remember correctly, he just waved it off and ruffled your hair."

Bra's features softened. "I know," she spoke quietly. "It's just, now I understand why Goten, Marron, and Mai were basically his only friends. They knew everything about our heritage, and they didn't care much about mom's money. I didn't realize how hard it would be to make friends at school. I kind of wish Pan and I went to the same school."

Vegeta took a few solid steps towards the girl before stopping in front of couch and taking a seat. He silently looked over to the spot next to him, and Bra took the hint, sighing after she sat down. "It's difficult to truly make friends when your mother is the richest woman in the world," Bra complained, not that she wasn't grateful to both her parents and grandparents and anything they gave. "You never know if someone actually likes and respects you or if they just pretend to so that they can benefit from the friendship. I thought these guys actually liked me, but today was different and I found out the truth."

"What truth is that?" Vegeta questioned, patiently listening, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"Daddy, they've been saying stuff about me behind my back," she nearly whimpered. Her eyes started to water, but she held back her tears. "I heard them talking about my intelligence, strength, and looks when I was coming back from the bathroom. It was all really mean, and they all laughed. I've always tried to fit in, and they made me sound so pathetic that I was just tired of it. I left them without saying goodbye and went off to be alone. I turned off my phone so I didn't know what time it was. That's why I'm late. I was just thinking too much."

Vegeta didn't say much of anything for a while, letting it all sink in. He had to be cautious and avoid stating anything that would upset his daughter further. His eyes danced with satisfaction when he thought of an angle. "Princess, what did they say about you?"

Bra looked horrified by his question, her eyes pleading with him. She didn't want to repeat those horrible words, words that made her feel like she wasn't a person, words that made her feel less of herself. "Daddy…no…"

"I won't repeat myself, Eschalot."

Her cheeks puffed up so as to bite back a retort. Shaking her head, she repeated what she had overheard. "They called me a nerd wannabe that probably cheated to get into honors classes," she stated. "They said I was a brute in gym class and that no guys would ever look at me. Even the guys agreed saying I was nothing but a clone of my mother anyway, so there was nothing special about me."

"Do you agree with them?"

"Huh?"

Coal eyes burned into cerulean, and Bra nearly shrank as her father did repeat that one question. "Do you agree with them? Are you a 'nerd,' a cheater, a brute, or a clone of your mother?"

"N-No," Bra stammered, looking away embarrassed. "I mean, I like school, but I don't cheat. I work hard to get my grades and get the top scores. In gym, I just excel because the sports are easy compared to training and sparring. And I mean, I look like mom, and we have similar hobbies, but we're really different."

"Then their words shouldn't bother you so much," Vegeta replied. "I've received many an insult in my days, and the only ones I allowed to affect me were the ones I truly believed. Everything else was just laughable. You're a Saiyan princess, and that's something these humans can never take away from you. They are jealous that you excel. Plus, being a 'clone' of your mother shouldn't be an insult. Don't tell her I said this, but she is the most beautiful woman on this whole damn planet, and everyone knows it too." Vegeta smirked arrogantly at that, knowing that she was the woman he got to spend the rest of his life with. Bra smiled warmly at her father as he was lost in his own thought for the moment. "Most likely those brats were not only jealous that you have brains, brawn, and beauty, but that you would never even look at them like that. It's false bravado."

"I think you may be right," Bra yielded. "I don't know why I let it bother me so much." Her eyes got their sparkle back, and she beamed up at her father. "Thanks, daddy."

"Anytime, princess," he replied.

The lights turned on seconds later. Bra sat up straight, her eyes landing on her confused mother. "Bra? Vegeta? What are you two doing up?"

Bra hesitated, but Vegeta didn't miss a beat. "Midnight snack," he lied, shocking his daughter. She relaxed as he added, "Couldn't sleep."

Bulma relaxed a bit and smiled at her husband before looking to her daughter who just nodded in response. "Well," she responded, "you should probably head up to bed. It's really late, and you have school in the morning."

"Right, mom," Bra agreed. "I'll be up soon."

Accepting the answer, Bulma left the room to go make herself a cup of tea. Bra then stood up, ready to get some rest. She started to walk away. "Eschalot." She stopped in her tracks again wondering why she seemed to listen more when he used that name. Her eyes searched his, and he smirked. "Tomorrow, stand proud and tall," he ordered, "and never let anyone make you feel like you're inferior. Make sure those students know just what a Saiyan princess can do."

"I will, daddy." Bra smiled. "Good night."

Vegeta watched as his daughter ascended the stairs, her spirit much lighter than it had been when she had come home. He still couldn't believe that she had let words like that get to her, but he remembered that his children had lived very different lives than he had, Bra especially. Hopefully, his advice would be her focus the next day when she saw those worthless human peons who had nothing better to do than tear their superior down. Bra could handle herself, though. The prince had faith in her.

"Coming to bed?" Bulma asked, Vegeta's attention snapping to her.

He grinned. "Sure."

"Was everything okay with Bra? She didn't get in too late, did she?"

"Everything is fine, woman," he placated. "The girl was punctual." Okay, so that was a lie, but his wife didn't need to know of their late night arrival. Besides, he was certain it would only be a one-time occurrence.