He hadn't noticed her entering his chambers. He had never known her to be quiet or stealthy before. He was just getting ready to shower and to retire for the night when he turned to see the lady of the household standing in the doorway. He jumped in surprise, and his surprise turned to mild annoyance.

"Vegeta-chan," Mrs. Briefs called in her sweet, melodious voice. "It's pretty early for you to be back in the house."

Vegeta said nothing in response. It was true that he was in earlier than normal. He didn't need to sleep as much as humans seemed to sleep so he would often come back inside in the wee hours of the morning, nap for a few hours, and go back to training. Because he had felt that he hit a plateau with the current equipment, he decided to turn in a little early.

Also, there was another motivation…

"Listen, sweetheart," Mrs. Briefs began again. "I think it's about time you took a teensy little break during the day. I am going into town tomorrow and I would like for you to go along with me. I will make it worth your while."

She winked at Vegeta, catching him completely off guard.

"Bulma has a very important conference tomorrow so it is probably best you don't go in there and wake her," she noted, now strolling past Vegeta and taking a seat on his bed. "This is a very big deal for her, for the company, and for all of us. While we're out I will have my husband do some alterations on the training equipment for you, okay?"

She was now absentmindedly fluffing the pillows on the bed, giving him that saccharine smile all the while. Vegeta was utterly stunned and gave a half nod in response. Was this blackmail? Was this a slap on the hand for the canoodling he and the woman had been up to lately? Was this bribery? Although he had been through a lot of different bargaining and negotiations in his several decades of existence, he hadn't run into such an odd situation.

With that, Mrs. Briefs hopped from Vegeta's bed and patted him on the shoulder. "Well then, let us plan to leave at 8:00 sharp. The best time to hit the shops is right when they open. We will do brunch, my treat. Sleep well, Vegeta darling."

Vegeta could have had an aneurism at that very moment.

"You've got this," Bulma said to herself in the mirror. She had been up since before the sun rose rehearsing her speech and working out her nerves. She had started her morning with yoga and a cup of tea. After that, she took a stroll around the compound with her note cards in hand. Besides the birds, she was the only one up so early. After her stroll, she showered and prepped herself appearance wise. Today was the day she would deliver her largest sales pitch to date. Getting up early and working out all the nerves had been her key to success in the past.

She turned around and admired herself from every angle. She had picked out a pencil skirt suit and a modest heel. Her mother had lent her the pearls she received for her wedding, a good luck charm as she had said. With a glimpse at her watch, she determined that there was no room for delaying anymore; it was go time.

Bulma passed her parents's room on her way out. The door was open and her mother was bustling about putting herself together for the day. She caught sight of her daughter and smiled. "Bulma-chan! You look so beautiful!"

"Thanks, Mama," Bulma said, spinning in place happily. "I think I am finally ready. I have been up for hours."

"Just like your father," Mrs. Briefs noted. "He always gets up nice and early before a big day. He sends his regards, by the way."

"Where did dad get to? Come to think of it, where are you going?" Bulma quizzed. "You are all dressed up."

Mrs. Briefs gave her a little wink. "I've got a date with a handsome gentleman. I have to look my best!"

Bulma sighed. Her mother was always so cheery and flirty. She had no clue how her father was okay with her little outings with other men. In the end, it was always just lunch, and usually with prospective clients. She was Dr. Briefs's secret weapon in securing deals with tough cookies.

"Have fun with that," Bulma said with a roll of her eyes. Although she wasn't above using her assets for persuasion, she firmly believed that it was her brain that did the real convincing.

"I'm so glad you decided to join me, Vegeta-chan," Mrs. Briefs exclaimed as she shut her car door. "I am going to spoil you rotten today. We are going to have a great day!"

The current renovation being done on the simulator was the only reason that Vegeta had allowed himself to get dragged into this position. When he had woken up that morning, the old man was already at work in the basement level lab. He had been down there to question him about the specific repairs and upgrades for the briefest of moments before returning to his quarters. Just as he closed the door, he heard the woman enter from a morning stroll. The whole house was awake at such an odd hour. He heard her hum tunelessly as she passed his door and fought the urge to grab her and pull her in with him. Though they were trying to keep things as low key as possible, seeing that neither of them wanted anything serious, the tension between them in everyday settings was heavy. He still couldn't believe that her parents knew.

Mrs. Briefs was an atrocious driver. Vegeta regretted his agreement just a few minutes into the drive when the matriarch nearly rear ended a parked car. She either drove well under the speed limit or at least double what the traffic signs displayed. At this rate, he was going to die in the car with Mrs. Briefs and not by any android's hands. The drive was fairly short, thank Kami, but Vegeta had to instruct her how to park in a standard parking spot (even without ever having driven an Earth vehicle). They had come to a crowded shopping area full of quaint, pricey specialty boutiques. It was a rustic-looking square with a fountain playing in the very center. The people around them looked very well to do and snobbish. It was no surprise that Mrs. Briefs had brought him here.

"Veggie-chan," Mrs. Briefs said in her sing-song tone. "No price is too high, so you know. I am spoiling you today. It's not often I get to do more than dine with handsome gentlemen. I am happy to treat."

Vegeta growled low in his throat, disgusted at the pet name, but crossed his arms in complacence. It was only a few hours and he would have new upgrades. He repeated this many times in his mind as Mrs. Briefs dragged him through the shops, her arm linked in his. She did get a lot of glances from the other cougars in the shops, seeing as how she was about the same height as her unwilling date (she had the sense to wear flats to appear nice and dainty). She was absolutely dwarfed by Vegeta with his sheer muscle mass and loved to comment on that fact. She repeatedly squeezed his biceps and swooned over how handsome she thought he was. While most men would probably swell up with the attention, Vegeta got more and more annoyed with every comment.

Just think about the upgrades… just think about the upgrades…

One of the benefits of being paraded around the bougie area of town was that there were several high end men's athletic stores for him to pick up some lighter duty training gear. At Mrs. Briefs's insistence he was fitted with top of the line cross trainers, workout pants, and super-light workout tees. Bunny set up a delivery for later that afternoon and the store owner was more than happy to oblige, seeing as how they bought nearly everything in the store in Vegeta's size. She had managed to slip in some neon pink wristbands when he had his eyes averted, convinced that pink really complimented his skin tone.

Now praying that the ordeal was almost at an end, the two of them sat down at a Parisian-style café. As soon as their bottoms hit the chairs, a waitress was upon them with a bottle of champagne. The waitress was too friendly for Vegeta's liking and she gibbered on, staring at him all the while and batting her eyelashes. Suddenly, she stopped staring and blushed. She then busied herself with pouring the champagne and hurried away. Mrs. Briefs took her champagne flute and sipped daintily.

"My goodness, Veggie," she sang. "If looks could kill that girl would have passed on the spot. She really was lovely, but not nearly as lovely as my sweet Bulma."

He was suddenly aware that he had been almost snarling at the girl. She was throwing it all out there pretty heavily, in his defense. He grabbed his glass forcefully and, by some magic, it made it to his lips without shattering in his firm grasp. The matriarch kept throwing hints out that she knew that he and Bulma had been coupling on occasion. He had no idea why the idea of anyone else knowing bothered him. As Mrs. Briefs had said numerous times throughout the morning, he was quite the catch and Bulma was one of the most sought after women in the whole city. What they didn't know about her was that she spent most of her time in sweatpants from her alma mater and a Capsule Corp. tee in any state of wornness. She perpetually had messy hair pulled back with whatever she had on hand, oftentimes paperclips and literal rubber bands. She chewed on her pencils whenever she was sketching prototypes and she smoked when she worked. Her face was streaked with oil whenever she worked on machinery and she shoved candy wrappers (usually peppermint discs) in the pockets of her lab coats. If they knew all of the annoying things she did, maybe everyone wouldn't lust after her so much.

The afternoon was half over before Mrs. Briefs and Vegeta made it back home. He had no idea how she had managed to keep him out for so long; knowing the strange family and the company they kept, she very well be an accomplished time bender or some nonsense like that. As they pulled in to the Capsule Corp. compound, Bulma was just getting out of her sleek business hovercar. She was bent over, fishing out her briefcase from the backseat just as they stopped in the adjacent parking spot. She emerged from the vehicle, large sunglasses on her face and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"You are just getting back?" Bulma said in shock. "How did Vegeta not kill you? How are you still alive?"

"Oh Bee," Mrs. Briefs chortled as she shut her car door. "Vegeta is quite the gentleman. We had a lovely outing. He didn't threaten my life at all."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and muttered something in his native tongue under his breath. Bulma clicked her tongue, shaking her head slowly. "It may be a first. You're getting soft, Veggie."

He snarled, "Shut your mouth, woman. How dare you call me that?"

"I think I hear your father calling me," Bunny said, swiftly but sweetly. "You two behave yourselves."

Bulma leaned against her car, crossing her arms in front of her so her breasts were more accentuated. She said quietly, "What are you going to do about it, oh mighty prince?"

"Your parents know," he said bluntly. "At least your mother does and the moment she keeps a secret is the day Kakarott takes your spot as a technology guru."

Bulma lit her cigarette and sighed, "My mother is better at keeping her mouth shut than you would imagine. She knows a lot more than she lets anyone think."

Vegeta reached across the space between them and took the cigarette from Bulma's mouth, incinerating it with a flare of ki. He said simply, "That's disgusting."

She pouted briefly, but then her eyes lit up. "Just so you know, I made the biggest deal of my career today. You should add expert negotiator to that technology guru title you gave me a minute ago. I never knew you thought so highly of my work, Veggie."

"I swear to the god of every planet, Woman, if you call me that one more time—"

He was caught off guard by Bulma pressing herself against him, pushing him against her mother's car. Though he didn't respond at first, gradually he relaxed into her, one hand wrapping around her and grabbing her bottom firmly. After sharing a bit of fire, she pulled back, tracing around her lips with a finger to ensure she hadn't smeared her lipstick. She whispered, "Tonight. I expect you."

She walked out of the garage area and towards the house, her heels clicking and signaling her every step. He stayed pressed up against the car, running his hands over his face in exasperation. Thankfully he quickly remembered the upgrades were complete and he was left to train angrily for the rest of the evening without any aggravating female interruption.

There was a reason his father had told him that women were trouble.