Bulma sat within the tiny console of the gravity chamber, sweating through her old blue jumpsuit that once belonged to Vegeta, mentally cussing a storm but still diligently working on fixing the faulty wiring system. If only her father was around, perhaps they could have made new things rather than making do with recycling old ship materials...
Sighing over useless thoughts as she tightened the panel over the sensitive wires, she also shut the mental doors on her more sensitive thoughts. Wiping at her brow, she exited the cramped space, grabbing at the hand outstretched to help her up. She nodded gratefully towards the tall Saiyan who had nothing better to do than annoy her. Fingers lingering over her hand, Raditz handed her a water bottle and subtly sniffed at her hair, standing too close for her comfort.
She stepped back, placing a hand at his chest to keep him at bay. He smirked at her, "Aw, don't be like that. Until Prince Vegeta finally lays mating claims upon you, I can attempt to gain you for myself. Besides," And he stepped closer, ignoring her outstretched hand, but rather grabbing it gently with his two hands, "you can't truly expect me to believe you don't like my attentions. Especially when our prince hardly does you any justice."
It is true, she can admit, that Raditz is a nice man that usually spent his spare time helping her as he could. Mostly heavy lifting, but otherwise just keeping her company and making sure his comrades didn't try to accost Bulma themselves. But his protection wasn't enough of an excuse for his words to her, or against his superior.
Rolling her eyes, she patted his cheek, but strode away as fast as she could, closing the doors to the gravity simulator and using the outdoor controls to lock and set the machine to 100 times Vegetean gravity. The outdoor controls and lock were Vegeta's idea, a means for punishment, but Bulma found herself quite content using it herself. She grinned at Raditz, giving him a thumbs up. She saw him shake his head, then return her gesture, showing her job of fixing the machine had been a success. She nodded, showed him ten minutes with her fingers, than set the timer to release at that specified moment. Walking away she heard the rumble of the machine behind her; Raditz was letting off some steam it seemed.
Shaking her head at his angst, she remembered a time when he had free access to her, and too many other women as well, in the King's harem. Raditz was a generous partner, romantic when he wanted to be, rather tame in comparison to others she had unfortunately known, but he was still a pig. And now he wanted Bulma all to himself, because she was all that was available. There were a total of four Saiyan women among the exiles on Namek; the other three (Chi Chi, Fasha, and Gine) were already mated. That left about twenty or so randy Saiyan men bereft, and only her as the unclaimed female. It did not help that the aliens who originally inhabited Namek were a race of only males.
She had no problems with the Namekians; they were a peaceful race who found purpose and love in their own quaint ways (who had no idea what to make of the female body, anyway), and some were honorable warriors too, of which her Saiyan half could appreciate. But of her own people... If Vegeta had not declared her off limits, even to himself, at the very beginning in order that she could do repairs and whatever else she wished, she imagines her life would have been the same as at his father's palace: pleasing as many man who wished for her "services".
She had wondered for the longest time why he given her such a gift, and had come to learn that he and his brother Tarble had never known who their mother was for sure, could not even be positive they shared the same mother, but knew her (or they) to be of the King's Harem. King Vegeta certainly never offered the information. In a culture that valued family for at least stability's sake, if nothing else, not knowing one's parentage was very rare. And almost unheard of in the history of the royal family. Both heirs had, for this reasons, disdained the royal harem.
She remembers neither prince visiting her, or the others. (The younger prince was not here on Namek with them, but Vegeta said the boy had been on his way to the ship bay as well; hopefully he had managed to escape Frieza as well...) At the time she never knew why, and honestly, she hadn't really cared. However, now he is more than just some royal figure in the distance, he is actively kind to her, is constantly impressed by her, and takes care to be an attentive suitor. He had gaped like a fish upon her reveal as a stowaway, but then had laughed at her tenacity, saying he "should not have been so surprised"; as if he remembered her from before as having an attitude, though she only remembered interacting with Goku outside of the harem's rooms.
Each and every plan she had drawn out for him, or gestured wildly at, produced nods, smirks, surprise, and pride from the man; he is happy she is around, and is glad for her expertise as a scientist, more than as a woman. She had not had that since she was a young teen, and it made her heart soar to be appreciated thus. Every time she internally bemoaned that she had never finished her studies that she could not make new unless from the ship's scrapes, that Namek had no usable minerals easily accessible, she only had to remember Vegeta's pride in what she had accomplished, and she was eager again to continue on. If the situation had been different, she would say he could have almost been like a familial figure. But he was of her age and her lover; General Bardock was the one who looked on at her as a daughter, a sister to his sons, an aunt to his grandkids.
Sighing, she looked back at the gravity simulator, watching Radtiz stumble out, sword being shoved into its scabbard, and gulping at his water. She does appreciate the pig's protection and friendliness, otherwise another male would have harassed her and worse. But she worries that someday Raditz will cross a line, and Vegeta will kill him. She knows that if it weren't for the fact that neither Goku, nor Bardock, nor Vegeta can't always look after her, that her prince understands the situation they all find themselves in without female warriors to fill in the ranks, than Raditz would probably be dead already. Vegeta's temper, while more calm than before, still could be violent when provoked.
Gazing forward towards "home", she could not wait to see her Prince again. He gave her life back, her sense of purpose after nearly two decades thinking she'd die an unappreciated whore. She wants to do more for Vegeta, to show him her love; but what? If her machines and her technologies and trading knowledge with the Namekians (which, she might add, caused them to ally themselves with Vegeta, thank you very much!), if all that didn't wake him up to the fact that she was with him for more than protection, then what would? She could only speculate that he thought she did all that crap for the whole group, rather than just him. It wasn't like that at first, not at all.
She kicked at a loose rock, watching it skip a few times before plopping in a lake. She had least a week to figure something out, before what the Namekians called the Solstice came. A holiday they celebrated every few years when the rotations of the planet and three suns aligned in such a way that all three suns disappeared for few hours. Her inner nerd squealed over the calculations, but her inner romantic swooned at the history and traditions the Namekians created out of such an occasion. It would be the perfect time to give Vegeta something. But what?
Next Time: Vegeta goes shopping.