Yush, I love you guys and you know it. ;) I only ask that those that haven't reviewed the last chapter go back and do so, ok? Show me some love, I've had a shitty last couple days, what with the tornado and then cleanup.

"Hey, Stranger."

Trunks whipped around so fast he would have hurt himself if he'd been alive, and his wide, blue eyes just stared at Sailor Cosmos in utter shock. And then her arms were around him and he was returning the embrace tightly, a soft purr emitting from his chest as she cried on his shoulder. "Dare I ask how you died?" It had been a minute, a year, a century since they'd begun holding each other; Trunks was never sure of time anymore in Otherworld.

"I'm didn't," she whispered. "I convinced Yemma to let me speak with you, r'sha. It's been five years on Earth since you and Bulma passed. Is… is she here, too?"

"No, Mom wasn't a warrior, so she's in a different section of Otherworld. This bit of paradise is reserved for warriors of the light. I would have been able to keep my body, but… you know there was nothing left of me after the explosion."

"I know," she breathed as she wondered why his scent wasn't making her heart flutter like it used to. It was so similar to Vegeta's, yet different, and that tiny difference wasn't causing the same reaction that she had around his father. "Look, I don't have long, Yemma promised me thirty minutes."

"Really? That's it? Why?" Trunks asked incredulously.

"Because he's pissed at me for threatening to burn Otherworld to the ground," she replied tartly, managing a tiny smile for his benefit. "I'm not sure if I can do it or not, but I made it clear to him that I'm willing to give it a shot if he keeps being an unfeeling douchebag."

"Damn, my goddess. That's kind of hot, you know. I wish I had an actual body… we could make those thirty minutes count." Her immediate frown and the guilt in her eyes made him freeze, and he tipped her chin up and breathed in her scent. "Oh… oh wow." A little smirk played on his lips as he tried to hold in a laugh, but he found himself chuckling anyway. "I didn't think Father would actually… oh dear gods, that's too funny. I'm sorry, Usa!" He laughed when she shoved at him and jerked her back into his arms tightly to give her a gentle, reassuring kiss. "Relax, moon goddess. I'm not jealous or anything; I'm dead, remember? Did you come to ask permission or something? Is that it?"

"Sort of," she sighed. "Trunks, I… I don't know what to do. I love you. But at the same time…"

"You love Dad, too," he sighed.

"He felt the pull for me four years, ago, Stranger. And he didn't say a word to me about it until two weeks ago when he started burning. I got him through it," she added softly, "but… I don't know if I can be his mate. Even if this is tearing him apart… even if it's tearing me apart, too."

"And what does Geta say about it, sweetheart? Is he alright with it?"

"I… I don't know," she admitted softly. "I haven't spoken with him since before the burning, honestly. He's been staying with Tantu to keep Pan at bay."

"Gods, they grow up so fast. I looked in… I don't know when it was. A couple years ago, maybe? Rissi and Geta seemed to be getting closer. Time is so strange here that a year seems as if a day."

"I know, Yemma told me to expect that, that you likely wouldn't even realize that five years had passed." She looked at a watch in her subspace and sighed. "We've only got ten minutes left, love."

"Oh. Well… I say go to him, Usa. If I had to pick anyone to take care of you, it would be Dad. Hands down… hell, you should already know that, Moon." Trunks kissed her again when she just whimpered and started crying again, trying to convey his undying love for her through the contact since there was no longer a mating bond for him to use. The kiss was lacking in the fire and desire that he remembered, but he knew it was because he was dead and she was in love with his father. That was alright, though; Usagi likely could feel the lack of a spark as well and would come to the same conclusion. And hopefully that realization would make her go to Vegeta to consummate a pairbond. "I love you, sweetheart. I always will. And I think you should go home now, find Dad, and be happy with him. Alright?"

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I just want you to be happy, moon goddess. That's all I ever wanted for you in life, and it hasn't changed a bit in death."

Usagi expected to feel a shiver run through her, coupled with a burning need when Trunks bent his head and nipped at her shoulder, gently, but she felt nothing. Nothing at all. Her body clearly knew who she belonged to now that her mate was dead and another had made his desires known. And she had felt only love in that kiss, but no physical desire whatsoever. "Alright… I'll do it," she whispered. "But I won't love you any less, Trunks."

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It had been a tearful goodbye when Yemma had appeared and informed her that her time in Otherworld was up, but Usagi felt lighter as she flew back towards Capsule Corp. Lighter and freer, and more at peace than she had been in years.

Trunks was happy. He was at peace with his own death, and just as importantly, he approved of the match between herself and his father. Not only approved, but he'd encouraged the union. And if he was alright with it, she could hardly resist Vegeta anymore.

Except for Geta. "I need to talk to him," she sighed as she flew home and entered her bedroom through the window. She grabbed a towel, noted the time, and knew that Vegeta would be training in the gravity room. "Good, I have enough time to wash up, change, and go hunting through the woods for a snarky quarter-Saiyan and his sexually timid hetero life-mate."

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Using her ki to dry herself, Usagi wrapped a towel around her, cursing her forgetfulness. Sure, it wasn't Vegeta's scheduled time for use of that side of the house, but she knew damned well that she should have remembered to bring clothes with her into the bathroom before showering. And of course, there weren't any spares in her subspace pocket. "I'll just move really fast," she whispered, "and hopefully he'll still be on his side of the house."

She opened the bathroom door slowly, and once she'd poked her head around and was absolutely sure that he was nowhere to be seen, she padded out into the hallway and headed straight to her room.

Usagi skidded to a halt when she turned the corner and found him waiting outside her bedroom door. The look on his face just before he turned was contrite, troubled, and serious, but the moment he spotted her his expression completely shifted.

She trembled under that predatory, heated stare, and found herself backing away from him slowly as if she was terrified of him pouncing on her. Which she was. When her back hit the wall and she had nowhere to go, she clung tightly to the towel around her. "Tousan… please don't…"

Vegeta grit his teeth at that word and clenched his fist as he fought to maintain control. "Not your fucking father, woman. You know that." He huffed a little when her eyes welled up with tears at his words. "You know I don't mean it that way, Usa."

She gave him a brief nod and relaxed a little when he backed away from her slowly, his hands up in a gesture of peace. Damn if he wasn't kidding about having more willpower than all of the Saiyans put together. "I forgot to take clothes with me to the shower, and I—"

"I know," he replied gruffly, "it wasn't my turn for this side of the house. Go change," he ordered. "I just came by to talk. I wanted to know how my son was faring in Otherworld, if Yemma even let you speak with him."

Usagi wasn't going to turn down the chance to escape and hurried into her room, shutting the door behind her without answering him. She leaned against it for a moment in order to force herself to breathe deeply and evenly before throwing on a long skirt and a top that didn't reveal anything. She slowly opened her door to find him still waiting, and fidgeted in place when he just looked at her like he was going to die if he didn't have her, and soon. "I spoke with Trunks," she whispered, her face coloring just at the thought of his final words to her before Yemma had firmly asked her to come with him.

Usagi, I asked Dad to take care of you. Let him.

"How is he?" Vegeta asked softly, his mind reeling at the very idea of speaking with Trunks… or even Bulma.

"He's good. He's at peace." As if reading his mind, Usagi gave him a tiny, reassuring smile. "Bulma's in another part of Otherworld, so I didn't have time to find her. Yemma kicked me out as politely as anyone could when kicking out the Queen of the Stars, and told me that if he sees me again in the next century, it'd be too soon."

"And…?" When Usagi hesitated and took a slight step backwards towards her door, Vegeta was ready to pounce. But no, he wouldn't do that to her. He wanted her willingly, as he continuously reminded his beast. "Well, what did he say!?" He asked impatiently.

"I… he said…" Usagi licked her lips in anticipation and couldn't seem to get the words out of her mouth; the way Vegeta was watching her was making her nervous as hell, even though her body ached to let him just take her for as long and hard as he wanted to. "He said that he asked you to take care of me. And that I should let you," she whispered nervously. "But… but I think we should talk with Geta first… it… it would be the right thing to do, Vegeta. I know he doesn't really have a say in it, but it would make me feel better about becoming your mate if we had his blessing."

Vegeta merely grunted and nodded his head, but was unable to open his mouth to speak as he just soaked in the sight of her, her mere presence making his entire body tense with need. When he didn't speak for a long while and simply looked at her, she turned to go back into her room. "I need you," he said flatly before she could close the door behind her. When she opened the door with a heavy sigh, he licked his lips at the thought of simply shoving her backwards a few more feet until he had her on the bed, writhing beneath him. "I don't know why the gods are doing this to us… some sort of sick joke, maybe… but I need you, Usagi."

"You have my total and utter agreement on the sick joke part," she sighed. "The Fates must be laughing their asses off at us right now," she added with a huff as she leaned back against the doorjamb. "Vegeta… we really should go talk to my son, first. It's the responsible thing to do."

"And what do we tell him, woman?" Vegeta asked with a ghost of a smirk that made him look almost normal. "Do I track him down and say, 'boy, I'm going to fuck your mother's brains out. Hope you're cool with that.'? Or do you want me to give him the sissy-boy 'I'm in that-word with your mother' talk?"

Usagi couldn't help but laugh at that and what she imagined Geta's face would look like if his Paw Paw dropped the news on him in such a typical Vegeta fashion. But once her chuckles subsided, she chanced a look at him… and he looked miserable. "God, Tou—ugh, Vegeta. Whatever your name is," she sighed. "What would we tell Geta? Seriously?"

"He's Saiyan," Vegeta answered simply. "And he's felt the pull already, for Red's daughter. And I've already spoken with Tantu and he says that they both support whatever decision we make. All of those with Saiyan blood understand it and support it." He felt himself climbing back to level footing now that she was voicing her arguments, and he was planning on shooting them down, one by one. Hopefully, if the gods were inclined to be a little kinder, that would be all it took before she finally gave in and let him take her to bed.

"I still haven't felt it, Vegeta." Usagi looked him dead in the eye to prove her point, and when she didn't feel anything, she shrugged.

"I don't know why," he grunted. "I really don't. I feel it every time you look at me like that." She wasn't over Trunks, that was the only reasonable answer. She wasn't Saiyan, so she'd mourn for however long it took for her kind. "Hell, Usa… just feeling it right now's got my beast rattling the cage. It's getting harder to control every day, too."

"I can try my healing light if you'd like," the moon princess suggested softly. "It always helped calm Trunks when he found his temper running away with him… and it helped with those Saiyan urges on a few occasions as well." Usagi regarded him with a heavy stare. "Can I touch you without you freaking out?"

Vegeta nodded slowly after giving it some serious thought. "I'll be fine, woman. Try it." He let her come to him, and she approached him like he was some sort of wild thing about to pounce. Since he was, it was totally understandable. But the moment her hands cupped his face he relaxed, his arms and tail going around her waist to pull her tightly to him.

Usagi's mouth turned up in a tiny smile when she felt and heard him begin to purr happily in reaction to her light and relaxed against him in turn, knowing that he would behave as long as she was flooding him with her power. His warmth did something funny to her though, along with his breath ghosting along her throat and the feel of his hands slowly trailing up and down her back. God, being held by him felt good, and she had to admit that it wasn't a father-daughter kind of good.

Fine, damn it. She wanted him, too. Well, who could blame her, huh!? The man was sex on a fucking stick, and she'd even admitted to Trunks years ago that his father was hot as all hell. And seventeen years hadn't changed that a bit—she'd find him just as attractive even if she hadn't helped him through the burning two weeks ago.

"I can feel your heart rate, you know," he chuckled in her ear. "It's beating a little fast, woman."

"Shut. Up. Vegeta."

"I could make it beat faster if you'd like," he teased; now that he was in total control, he was feeling a bit more like his old trollish self. Vegeta didn't expect her to slide her hand up his chest and neck to stroke just below his hairline, though, and the unexpected contact made him purr a little louder.

"I wish to God you weren't Saiyan," Usagi admitted reluctantly.

"So we could just fuck each other's brains out without worry of a commitment of any kind?" Vegeta snorted.

"No, so we could get the damned hormones out of the way and make a decision afterward without all of this mess clouding our judgments," Usagi replied softly.

"Saaame thing," he drawled out sexily.

"Ugh… you do realize that any resulting children will be Geta's sibling and his aunt or uncle, right? That a pairbonding would also make me his grandmother?" Usagi couldn't stop her fingers from running into his hair just a little while her nose took in his scent. God, he smelled so damned good, it just wasn't fair that any man in the universe smelled that wonderful!

"It actually wasn't that uncommon on Vegeta-sai," Vegeta said with an easy shrug. "When one mate died, the surviving mate almost always felt the pull for one of the deceased's family members. Like calls to like, woman. Look at Minako and Mirai, for example. And forbid the thought, but if something happened to Goten, Rei would likely feel the pull for Kakarot, since her mate is so much like his father."

Usagi shuddered at the thought. "Rei would eat him alive."

"Feh, he'd probably enjoy it," Vegeta chuckled. He laughed harder when she smacked his chest with the hand that wasn't idly tangling itself in that upsweep of black hair. "Oh, you know he would, woman. From what I hear, Red gets a little kinky in the sack."

Usagi laughed and shook her head. "The safe word is 'banana,' you know."

"Do you need a safe word?" He purred low in her ear, unable to stop himself from bending his head to just barely taste her neck. Kami, she tasted so fucking good! "God, I'd ask if the rest of you tasted this good, but I already know the answer," he whispered in wonder.

"Yes you do, and you don't need another sample tonight," she replied dryly, unable to keep from shivering when he slowly ran a few more openmouthed kisses down her throat. "As to the first question, the answer's no. I'm not…" She swallowed when his tongue stroked her earlobe, once… twice. "…into that sort of thing," she gasped.

"And just what are you into?" Vegeta tugged on her earlobe with his teeth before flicking it with the tip of his tongue once more.

"Compared to… to Rei… I'm… I'm pretty vanilla," Usagi admitted softly, increasing her light to keep things from getting out of hand. On his end, anyway. Her light sure as hell didn't do her own raging libido a damned bit of good, and the feeling of his mouth on her neck, while gentle and undemanding, was making her insane. "You already know that I'm fairly submissive in bed," she added in a whisper full of longing. "You?"

Hm… so she was curious? "I tend to get a little rough sometimes, but what we did during the burning is mostly the extent of it. I'm pretty straightforward unless you want to try something new."

"You're always straightforward," Usagi snorted, followed by a little sigh of pleasure when his fingertips slipped under the back of her shirt to stroke the bare skin. "Mm… Vegeta, you need to get back to your side of the house," she whispered. "Need… need to talk to Geta, first."

"Maybe in a little bit," he replied just as quietly, dipping his face to nip at her jawline. Vegeta moaned when she turned her face to his and his lips met hers, rather than her jaw, and she began moving them over his slowly, wasting no time as she ran her tongue along the crease of his mouth, seeking entry.

Usagi whimpered when he quickly reversed their positions, turning them so she was pressed to the wall, his mouth opening to hers only to take total control of the kiss and turn it into something raw, hard, and demanding. And damn her body, she was fully enjoying the feeling of being completely possessed by him, reveling in the fact that he was already rock hard for her and grinding against her core. Fuck, she couldn't even control her light anymore, since his hands and mouth were totally demolishing her concentration, destroying every last ounce of willpower she'd built up to fight the urge to just let him take her to his heart's content.

"Light thing," he grunted as he felt it fade and his beast began to take over, his inner Saiyan forcing his hands to grip her skirt and slide it up to her hips. Vegeta shivered and groaned when he found that she'd only thrown on the skirt and the top without any underwear. Just a quick flick of his fingers at the button of his pants and he'd be inside of her, thrusting, coming, finally slaking this damned lust that had been clouding his judgment for a week—hell, for years. "Use it, Usa," he growled between kisses, "stop me, for Kami's sake."

"Can't," she moaned, arching her hips as her hands fell to his waist and pulled him closer. "Can't… can't control… please, Vegeta…"

The Saiyan prince had no clue if that last plea was for him to find the willpower to stop, or for him to simply continue, but he sure as hell couldn't stop if that's what she was asking. Not when she was kissing him like that, rocking her hips in a blatant invitation to take what she had to offer, her body begging to feel him buried between her thighs.

Usagi moaned softly when she heard his pants drop, then felt him pressing his entry, and the sound turned to a sharp cry when he surged forward without any preamble and began thrusting inside of her hard and fast, his mouth just as rough and demanding as he slammed her against the wall and claimed her with more than just a touch of Saiyan violence. Unable to do anything but arch into him and moan under the assault of pain-laced pleasure, Usagi took the pounding, crying out once more as she felt his teeth rip her shirt and sink into her shoulder savagely, followed by a growl in the Saiyan language that she knew all too well. "M'yo."

"T'au," she whimpered in reply as she clutched at him tightly and finally came, her head rolling back as she cried out loudly and her vision went white, then black.

She opened her eyes slowly to find herself cradled to his chest, Vegeta's breaths coming out raggedly as he shook her gently. "Usagi? Dear gods, Usagi, answer me."

"Hn?" God, how fucking embarrassing, had she actually passed out? She felt him sagging with relief, but he was still trembling as his hold on her tightened a little. Why was he…? "Oh, fuck," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Usa," he gasped, shaking a little harder as he kissed the crown of her head. "I'm so sorry. So, so sorry."

"S'ok," she mumbled, "I… we… ugh," she groaned a little as she shifted against him. Damn it, she could feel him in her fucking head, blaming and beating himself down for what had just happened. Not only that, but cursing his inability to at least give her one damned night of slow and gentle lovemaking outside of the burning before she had to deal with that hardcore, full-blooded Saiyan nature of his. "Just as much my fault, baka. Couldn't control the light."

"Which was my fault," he stated firmly. "I'm a Saiyan prince. I should have controlled myself better."

"Saiyan princes have their limits, too. Just shut up and set me on my feet, Vegeta," she grumbled, and righted her skirt the moment he did as she asked. Usagi was surprised when he immediately moved away to let her by, and sighed at the look of raw guilt on his face. "I'm not mad, damn it. I just… give me a minute, ok? I'll be right back." To show she meant what she said, she even left her bedroom door open so he could see that she was just stripping her ruined, bloody shirt, switching it for a tank top before shedding the skirt that was now soaked with both of their fluids.

Vegeta waited patiently, licking his lips at the sight of her baring herself without a care that he was watching, and once she'd donned some underwear and a pair of shorts and come back out into the hallway, he pulled her to him tightly and kissed her. This time it was slow and almost gentle—at least it was gentle for him, anyway—and he only released her when she softly pressed her hand to his chest to signal that she needed to speak.

"We'll just…" She shook her head and sighed. "One day at a time, ok?"

He just nodded a little before bending his head to press his lips to her new mating mark. "I lost my head because you're fertile," he sighed, "but it's still no excuse. I'm sorry, Usagi. I didn't mean to be so damned rough with you, either. At least… not while I bit you for the first time. I'd meant to go slow for the consummation."

"Don't worry about it, Vegeta. You didn't hurt me, and I'm on birth control, so—" She huffed when she felt him tense at the mention of birth control and rolled her eyes. "Not what you think, baka. I have irregular periods, so I've been on it since I was fifteen. You know this. Geez, you stupid, jealous Saiyan men."

"I know that, woman, damn it. Give me some credit… or at least my nose. I would have smelled another man on you no matter how hard you tried to hide it. The beast… he just doesn't like birth control, same as all of us."

"Well, you'll just have to get the fuck over it, my dear, annoying prince."

"You think I'm… annoying?" Vegeta snorted, just a tad insulted. Surely, he deserved a more fitting title than annoying!

"Pain in the ass? King of the Trolls?"

"I've always liked that last one," he replied with a tiny smirk. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?" He asked, when she pulled away and started walking down the hall, not even conscious of the way her hips were swaying enticingly. He found himself hypnotized by those movements and following her almost like a hungry stray dog that wanted to lick her face in exchange for a treat. Well, he wanted to lick more than that, truth be told, but he was trying to rein in the urge to take her again and stake his claim, to make her bite him back.

"I'll bite you back when I'm good and ready," she stated, her voice a little snappish. "Don't you ever tone down your thoughts?"

"No," he snorted in reply, as he caught up to her and couldn't resist the urge to run a hand up her thigh to cup her backside. Vegeta pulled his hand away when she made a noise of protest in the back of her throat. "You're my mate, damn it. I'm not allowed to touch you?"

"Not right now," Usagi said firmly, stopping in the hall to turn and face him. "Look, I'm not mad at you. Things got out of hand and I'll admit that it was half my fault. But it doesn't mean I'm ready for… this," she huffed, gesturing between the two of them. "Just give me some damned space for a day or two, Vegeta. Let me talk to my son. Let me get my fucking head on straight and think this through."

"I agree that we should speak with Geta, woman, but I already bit you and staked my claim. What is there to think about?"

"It's not that cut and dry for me, Vegeta! I'm not Saiyan!" She yelled. "What!? You thought it was going to be all lovey dovey from here on out, that I'd just accept your claim without a single word of protest!?" Clearly, from his expression, he had hoped for exactly that. "Ergh… just… I'll be back later," she ground through her teeth. "Don't fucking follow me."

Next: Usa finds Geta and has a fairly uncomfortable conversation with the walking, talking double of Vegeta. I'm sure he'll have a few smartass things to say about his mother fucking his grandfather… :D