A/N: I have to warn you guys, this is a long chapter. It was a hard one to write, because a lot had to happen. After processing some past reviews, I did my best to keep it succinct, but I think every word written here is necessary for the story. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Enjoy!


The nuptials were beautiful. Trunks and Marron looked at one another during the entire ceremony as if no one else in the room existed but each other. Bra was gorgeous in her satiny blue, floor-length gown. Her eyes shone with so much love every time she looked at him, that it was difficult for Jacques to look away from her and actually pay attention to the ceremony. A few sniffles from Bulma beside him occasionally drew his attention to her, and the wailing of her mother a few seats away was certainly distracting. But by the end of the ceremony, when Trunks and Marron were pronounced husband and wife, Jacques was feeling confident in his decision to propose to Bra that day. The bride and groom proudly walked down the aisle, and stepped outside for the first time as husband and wife as the rest of the wedding party, and then the congregation, followed.

The reception was not too far, and the emotions in the car were too much for Jacques to bear as he wisely rode in silence. He could feel the mixture of pride and somberness radiating off the Briefs in the car, while Dr. Brief rubbed Mrs. Brief's shoulders consoling as she dabbed a tissue carefully at her eyes. Finally, the silence was broken.

"Is this it?" Vegeta's gruffly spoken question drew Jacques' attention to the window. He glanced out to see an approaching hotel.

As Bulma confirmed with Vegeta, Jacques took in the sight with appreciation. As they passed through the open gates, following a line of cars being directed by uniformed men along the driveway, Jacques reveled in the beauty of the place. It had to have cost a fortune to have their wedding reception there. Jacques felt his stomach sink with despair upon realizing he could not provide fine things like that for Bra. But he quickly shook it off. She already had all the money in the world that she wanted, and if money was that important to Bra, she wouldn't have been dating Jacques in the first place. Jacques had to remind himself that Bra loved him for who he was, just as he loved Bra.

They stopped as a valet approached the car, waiting for the family to clamber out. They hurriedly did so, as Dr. Brief helped Mrs. Brief out and Bulma reached a hand expectantly for Jacques as soon as he stepped out on her side of the car. Jacques gulped nervously and met Vegeta's loathsome gaze before taking Bulma's hand. He hoped he wasn't stepping on Vegeta's toes by assisting Bulma from the car, but by the looks of Vegeta's statuesque pose, it seemed the man had no intentions of walking around the car to help Bulma from it anyways.

"Thank you, Jacques." Bulma said with a smile, before turning to Vegeta as that smile grew smug. Jacques shuddered as Vegeta's eyes narrowed angrily at the situation. Bulma certainly wasn't helping his case when it came to dealing with Vegeta. If anything, it seemed the entire Brief family only served to make matters worse between Jacques and Vegeta. Jacques forced himself to ignore the situation as he released his grip on Bulma's hand and headed into the reception area ahead of the others.

The reception was out on the lawn, in the scenic, floral gardens of the hotel. Jacques couldn't imagine what the inside of that place looked like, but the gardens themselves looked like they belonged in a magazine. The blues in the flowers adorning the centerpieces of the tables were a perfect complement to the blue of the bridal party attire. Those same blue flowers were scattered throughout the gardens with many other flowers of varying types and colors. There was an elaborate fountain just behind the sweetheart table where Trunks and Marron would sit. A live band was playing classical music as the guests assembled into the fine reception.

Jacques couldn't help smiling at the scene as he saw many unfamiliar faces, but also recognized the few friends and family members he had recently met. He settled for joining Gohan and Videl at their table as he awaited the wedding party's arrival. Gohan was easy to talk to when they met, and everyone else he knew were so closely related to the bride and groom that he felt intrusive to be joining them so soon after the ceremony.

"Mind if I sit with you for a bit?" Jacques asked, rather shyly, to Gohan as he approached the table where Videl was already animatedly involved in a conversation with her famous father.

"Sure, Jacques. Have a seat." Gohan answered immediately, before kindly pulling out the empty chair beside him.

"Thanks." Jacques looked around curiously as he sat. "You know all of these people?"

"No. Not all of them." Gohan answered as he followed Jacques' gaze, looking around the large and still-growing congregation. Jacques opened his mouth to speak when a loud, boisterous stranger approached the table, complimenting Mr. Satan on his beautiful granddaughter in the bridal party. Jacques' eyes widened in alarm at the surprising outburst, but Videl and Gohan seemed indifferent to the occurrence. Apparently that kind of thing happened all the time, judging by the way Mr. Satan smiled politely and shook his head at the stranger as if it was no interruption at all. Gohan sighed heavily after the man left, and then Jacques decided that that sort of thing definitely must've happened all the time.

"I guess you didn't know that guy." Jacques commented in amusement. Gohan lifted his gaze to meet Jacques' eyes, surprised by the comment.

"A lot of people here are fans of my father-in-law's." Gohan shrugged. "A lot of them are Capsule Corporation executives, too. The people we know here are all the close friends and family of the bride and groom." Gohan explained informatively, before smiling fondly at a bustling table of strangers.

"Oh, look," Videl giggled as she ended her conversation with her father and followed Gohan's line of vision towards that same table, "Yamcha and Oolong are already hamming it up for the single ladies."

"Master Roshi, too." Gohan added in agreement. He chuckled as the group in question, which had been surrounded by a swarm of young ladies, was suddenly being deserted by their visitors. The men-and pig man-remaining at that table frowned deeply in disappointment as the women left.

"They'll never learn, will they?" Videl said crossly as she crossed her arms and frowned disapprovingly at the angered faces of the women leaving that table.

"And who are they?" Jacques asked with a curious tilt of his head.

"Master Roshi trained Krillin and my father…a lot of people, actually." Gohan explained with an admiring smile as he eyed the feeble-looking old man. "He's a legendary martial artist. Yamcha there trained with him, too. And Oolong is a family friend."

"Heh." Mr. Satan interjected with a conceited air. "You call that legendary? I'm-" he stopped suddenly as Videl eyed her father with a warning glare. Mr. Satan loudly cleared his throat before looking around nervously. "Bee! Come here, Bee! Come, boy!" Mr. Satan called with relief as Jacques gazed at the man quizzically. A large, barking dog came running from the bushes, practically leaping into Mr. Satan's lap. The dog licked at Mr. Satan's face as the man giggled and pushed the dog away.

"Oh, Bee! You're getting fur all over Dad's suit!" Videl scolded playfully as she assisted in pulling the dog off Mr. Satan. "Dad, I don't know why you had to bring Bee here. This is a wedding." Videl scolded with a shake of her head.

"Well, Videl," Mr. Satan said as his brows furrowed in confusion and he started searching his surroundings with hasty turns of his head, "Buu was supposed to be watching him. Where did he go?"

"Where do you think he is?" Gohan answered in subtle amusement with a point towards the opposite end of the reception area. Mr. Satan followed Gohan's finger and his jaw dropped upon sighting the scene. Videl clapped a hand over her face as her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

"Dad!"

"I-I've got him!" Mr. Satan stuttered apologetically as he hurriedly sprang to his feet. In the commotion of Mr. Satan scurrying to rescue the hors d'oeuvres table from the big, pink blob man that seemed to be downing everything in sight while his dog ran wildly around the table and barked, Jacques didn't notice his neatly tucked engagement ring falling from his pocket as he sprang to his feet in alarm at the chaos.

"Is that…what isthat guy?" Jacques questioned incredulously as he noticed surrounding wedding guests murmuring about the same curious sight.

"Buu. He's Dad's best friend." Videl explained without her perceptive gaze ever leaving the hors d'oeuvres table as Mr. Satan set to gently leading the large man away from it by his shoulders.

"But what…is he?"

Gohan and Videl exchanged a knowing look. "Don't ask." Gohan answered Jacques with a shake of his head. Then Videl looked at Jacques with a lighthearted smile.

"If you're going to stick around with Bra as long as I think you are, you better get used to being around some strange people." Videl smiled knowingly as Jacques' jaw dropped at the insightful assertion. "Take it from me." Videl added with a telling raise of her brows as she possessively grasped Gohan's hand atop the table. Gohan smiled back at Videl, just as the music changed and the feedback screech of a microphone interrupted the conversations flowing throughout the reception. Jacques retook his seat slowly, his attention focused on the announcer.

"Trunks and Marron thank you all for being here for their special day!" A blonde-haired man in a tux announced as soon as the feedback dissipated.

"Oh, no." Gohan grumbled worriedly as the announcer continued with his speech. "Where's my dad? Mom's going to kill him." Jacques looked around to note that he saw no sign of Goku, but what he did see was a livid Chi-Chi with the worriedly grimacing Ox King. Videl rolled her eyes and shook her head dismissively as she turned her attention towards the announcement of the bridal party.

Jacques' eyes lit at the sight of Bra entering through a floral archway as her name was finally called. She took his breath away in that instant, with the way the setting sun hit her and she was perfectly framed with the scenic backdrop. He wondered how every time he saw her, it was like she was more beautiful than the last. Jacques nodded to himself with that thought, feeling quite impressed. Those words would make good material for the proposal. Jacques patted his pocket with that thought, intent on feeling the ring he would be using soon to propose. But there was nothing there. He frowned deeply in panic as he patted again and again, harder each time, as if that would make the ring magically reappear in his pocket.

"You alright, Jacques?" Mr. Satan asked with concern. Jacques looked up with wide, alarmed eyes at the group surrounding him, who were all staring at him with perturbed expressions after hearing Mr. Satan's question. Jacques gulped a little too loudly before he cleared his throat and answered.

"I-I'm fine!" He answered abruptly before springing to his feet.

"Jacques!" That lovely voice that he had wanted so badly to hear, but in that moment so badly did not want to hear, called for him, "why didn't you come to meet me when they called me out?" Jacques forced himself to smile as he turned just in time to meet Bra face to face. She collided harshly into his arms. She hugged him tightly and released before he could think of an excuse, or a response. Anything. Words wouldn't come to him. Bra stared at him expectantly before twisting her lip with a lack of amusement at his silence.

"Whatever. Just come sit with me." Bra ordered with a dismissive air about that little encounter. Jacques was thankful for the free pass, but felt uneasy about walking away from that table. The ring had to be there somewhere. It couldn't have gone far. But refusing to leave with Bra would only further alarm her. Jacques scratched the back of his neck anxiously with indecision. He frowned deeply as he decided what he needed to do.

"I'll come sit with you soon, Babe." Jacques said with a small smile before strategically planting a reassuring kiss on Bra's cheek. "I just need to finish here first." Gohan contorted his brows in confusion at Jacques' claim, until Jacques gave Gohan a desperate, pointed look behind Bra's back. Gohan frowned bemusedly before shrugging dubiously at Jacques.

"Sure. We were discussing…education." Gohan said uneasily, causing Jacques to wince at the obvious lie that Bra would certainly see through. Bra and Videl both looked skeptically at Gohan before Bra turned to narrow her eyes suspiciously at Jacques. Then she glared at her boyfriend in warning.

"Better not keep me waiting long." She said as she crossed her arms. "I could have asked someone else to accompany me to my brother's wedding." She pouted, quite adorably in Jacques' opinion. "Then at least, I wouldn't be left the odd man out while I sit with my happily coupled family." Jacques couldn't help smiling in adoration at Bra, though he quickly stopped as she pursed her lips at him with displeasure.

"I won't." Jacques promised with a firm nod before Bra reluctantly stomped off to join her family at their table.

"What's wrong with Bra?" Questioned the young woman who had just brushed past Bra and was swaggering towards the table as she nibbled on an hors d'oeuvres. Jacques smiled politely at Gohan and Videl's daughter before intently pointing his gaze to the ground in search of the ring.

"I would say nothing, Pan." Videl answered as Jacques focused more on his search than the ensuing conversation. "But I think there's something going on. Right, Jacques?"

"Huh?" Jacques uttered in surprise as he suddenly ceased his desperate, fruitless search to meet Videl's discerning gaze.

"Want to tell us what you're up to, Jacques?" Gohan asked curiously with a small smile of amusement. Jacques opened his mouth, gaping at the family as he was at a loss for words. Thankfully, he was saved from the awkward situation.

"I made it!" Goku's voice announced proudly, startling the Son family at the table as they all turned to the side to look at the well-dressed man approaching the table and beaming. Pan smiled at him and Gohan did as well, until he noted his wife's scowl and couldn't help shaking his head at Goku in disapproval.

"Made it? Dad, the ceremony's over already." Goku frowned disbelievingly at the comment. "This is the reception now." Goku smiled and shrugged nonchalantly as he eyed the same table Buu had been feasting at earlier.

"I know." Goku smiled at Gohan. "I made it," he chuckled mischievously before winking at Jacques, "just in time for the food."

"Goku!" Videl scolded crossly as her father-in-law focused in on the extravagant spread of food. Jacques muttered quietly to himself as he kneeled on the grass, searching more closely for his lost ring as more scolding was carried on above the table.

"Where is it?" Just when Jacques was feeling he might never find the ring, he noticed a reflection of light hitting his eyes. He turned his head with a relieved smile, until Bee came running past, nearly knocking him over.

"Bee!" Jacques exclaimed in shock, just before the dog ran right through the grassy area where the ring laid, sending the ring flying elsewhere. "No!" Jacques grumbled miserably to himself as the nearby onlookers furrowed their brows curiously at his outburst.

"Need some help, Jacques?" Gohan offered as he bent down to lend Jacques a hand to his feet. Reluctantly, Jacques rose to fake a smile at Gohan, while his mind was focused on the shimmer emanating from a spot on Bee's wildly swinging tail. Maybe the ring was caught on Bee's fur. Or maybe it was somewhere in the grass. Or maybe it was lost forever. Jacques frowned deeply as that thought crossed his mind.

"You'd better get over to Bra, Jacques." Videl warned helpfully as Jacques turned to her in surprise. He looked in the direction of Videl's gaze, towards the Brief table, and frowned deeply in agreement. Not only Bra, but also Bulma and Vegeta were glaring at him impatiently, as Bra meaningfully tapped her manicured fingernails on the back of the empty chair beside her. Jacques gulped loudly before smiling in appreciation at Videl, Pan, and Gohan, who all looked genuinely concerned for him. Goku was already away from their table, giddily making a run for the buffet line.

"Yeah. I'd better." Jacques agreed as he absently slicked his hair back and hesitantly met Bra's stern glare with a hopeful smile. Ring or no ring, Jacques couldn't push his luck by remaining at that table a moment longer. As Vegeta whispered in Bra's ear with his hateful look locked on Jacques, Jacques decided he wouldn't risk waiting one second longer to join her by her side.


"This is exactly what I warned you about. The boy has secrets." Vegeta finished tersely as he pulled away from his daughter to cross his arms and glower at the approaching free loader. He hated the way Bulma and Bra smiled at the unwanted presence finally gracing them with his presence. However, the odd behavior Jacques was exhibiting did give Vegeta the opportunity he'd been waiting for. He could finally open Bra's eyes, so the girl would realize what she was dealing with before she was in too deep. As Jacques took his seat, warily meeting Vegeta's gaze, Vegeta relished in the distrustful look that Bra gave to her boyfriend. It was only a matter of time.

"Jacques! So nice of you to join us." Bulma proclaimed amicably, though there was an undertone of anger there that Vegeta knew all too well. Vegeta smirked at his wife before shifting his gaze out of the corner of his eyes towards Jacques.

"Yes. Nice." Vegeta huffed facetiously as Bra frowned reprovingly at her father's tone. "I thought you were Bra's boyfriend. You should be at her side during the wedding she invited you here for." Bra's frown turned from reproving to sad as she shifted her gaze towards Jacques. As much as he hated to see his daughter in pain, Vegeta couldn't help smiling smugly at his minute victory.

"I know. I'm really sorry I took so long, Bra." Jacques immediately apologized as he wrapped both hands around one of Bra's and leaned into her. "I'm here for you. I-"

"Hey!"

"Look at my handsome, married boy!" Bulma exclaimed as she stood for the interrupting newlywed duo who stood over the table with wide smiles and joined hands. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Jacques, past the people standing between them. He wanted to know what the kid was about to say to his daughter. He couldn't have possibly had a good excuse for his distance and skittish behavior at Bra's brother's wedding. Bulma widely enveloped her arms around the married pair as Trunks and Marron wrapped their arms lovingly around her as well.

"And my beautiful new daughter-in-law, Marron!" Bulma cooed as she clasped her hands together at her chest. "I am so happy for you two!" Vegeta glared at Jacques for the duration of the laudatory interaction, until the fool finally noticed him and fumbled to his feet, hurriedly refocusing his attention on the married couple.

"Congratulations, you two!" Jacques piped in jubilantly as he shook Trunks' hand, and then hugged Marron gently. Bra followed his lead, standing by his side and giving her brother and new sister each aggressive hugs.

"I can't believe this day came so quickly! I knew it, though." Bra added smugly as she distanced herself with a careful step back, brushing against Jacques and wagging a finger tellingly at the couple. Vegeta blatantly rolled his eyes at the comment, as Bra proceeded bragging just like her mother. He could feel Bulma's eyes on him as he did so. She was obviously not pleased by that expression of discontent.

"The day you two went on your first date, I knew it was meant to be. You two are going to have a long, happy marriage." Bra said as she arrogantly stood with her hands on her hips. Bulma kept her eyes fixed on Vegeta as she scoffed loudly at that comment. Vegeta knew her derision was all for him, but apparently no one else realized that. Trunks and Marron raised their brows at Bulma, surprised by the sound.

"Happy, after a long marriage." Vegeta rebuked sardonically as he knowingly met Bulma's gaze with a taunting smirk. "You say that now." Bulma narrowed her eyes challengingly at Vegeta.

"Please. You're lucky to have a wife like me." Bulma raised her chin proudly. "No other woman would've put up with you for all these years."

"And who else do you think would have put up with you for this long?" Vegeta retorted with an arrogant smirk.

"Oh. I can name quite a-" Bulma started sassily until Bra raised a hand and cut her off.

"You guys all make marriage look great!" Bra giggled and smiled widely as the building tension among the group eased at her jovial comment. "Today, I'm just really happy for Trunks and Marron." She added with heartfelt honesty as she met her brother's appreciative smile with one of her own.

"Thanks, Bra."

"Yeah, thanks. Sis." Marron giggled coyly as Bra smiled warmly back at her new sister. Vegeta clenched his jaw tightly as he saw Jacques ease a hand over Bra's shoulder, squeezing it gently during the heartwarming moment.

"Hello, Ladies!" To Vegeta's pleasant surprise, that moment was kept brief as the intrusive caller caused Bra to jump away from Jacques and scream.

"Argh! You dirty old man!" Then again, Vegeta didn't know if this was much better. He glowered furiously at the gleefully smiling idiots. He'd have to teach that old fool later for daring to lay a hand on his daughter.

As Bra drew her hand back in the air, smacking the old man across the face before he had a chance to react, Vegeta smirked proudly. Vegeta could tell his daughter hadn't held back at all, and she sure as hell could smack harder than Bulma. Vegeta chuckled to himself as Roshi fell over, his face dropped in shock and his cheek already red and visibly throbbing from Bra's handprint.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Bra screamed in indignation to the speechless hermit, before reaching for Jacques, who had been right beside her before the inappropriate interruption. Bra gaped in surprise as her hand skimmed through empty air.

"Jacques? Now where is he going?" She muttered aloud to herself.

Vegeta quirked a suspicious brow as his gaze focused where Jacques had been, only to spy the perpetual liar sneaking away from the group. Vegeta coughed to catch Bra's attention as he noted Jacques attentively following the original fraud's stupid dog around. He would never understand humans.

"Bra." Vegeta called quietly as his cough successfully caught his daughter's attention, and she was already headed towards him. Bulma had drifted away from their table, distracted by Krillin and 18, and Trunks and Marron had moved on to thank more wedding guests. Vegeta finally had Bra alone. Well, Bulma's parents were still there, but they didn't count. It was the perfect opportunity for Vegeta to enlighten his daughter.

"Dad." Bra said with a sly smile as she seated herself in the empty chair beside Vegeta. "You look very handsome today." Vegeta grunted in disapproval. Bra certainly had a way of leading the conversation in a completely different direction than he intended. Bra's smile only widened upon witnessing his mannerisms. "Aren't you going to tell me how beautiful I look?"

"Enough of that, Bra." Vegeta remarked impatiently with a roll of his eyes. Of course the girl was beautiful, and just like her mother, she knew it too well. He wasn't going to play into that. Not when he had something important to say. Vegeta looked at Bra with a meaningful stare. "Haven't you noticed his behavior today?" He couldn't help slightly smirking after successfully planting the seed, the one that would finally open her eyes. Bra was well aware of to what he was referring, as she frowned and immediately looked towards Jacques in the distance, who was on his hands and knees in the grass. The moron. He was making this too easy.

"What behavior?" Bra asked defensively with a raise of her chin as she met Vegeta's gaze again. Vegeta smirked knowingly.

"The avoidance, the secrecy?" Vegeta raised his brows expectantly as he awaited Bra's reaction, yet she stubbornly refused to acknowledge any of it. Vegeta frowned deeply at her stubbornness. "I don't want you getting too deep into something you can't get out of without knowing the truth." Vegeta narrowed his eyes as Bra uneasily leaned away from him and a look of concern crossed her face.

"What truth?" Bra said, almost in a whisper, as her eyes remained intently locked on his.

"Your nobody boyfriend is deep in debt, Bra." Bra lowered her chin disbelievingly at hearing Vegeta's claim as he aloofly crossed his arms. "He's also a pervert. And there's something more he's hiding." Vegeta narrowed his eyes as Bra fearfully inhaled sharply at his last statement. "I don't know what that is yet." Vegeta added angrily as he leaned towards his daughter, who had a look of guilt written all over her face. Whatever that last secret was, he definitely knew he wouldn't like it, and now he knew Bra was a part of it. "But I will find out." Bra gulped nervously, glanced towards the last sighting of Jacques in the distance, where he was no longer anywhere to be found, and returned her wary gaze to her father.

"Are you sure…Jacques' in debt?" Bra questioned hesitantly. Vegeta huffed in disbelief. After hearing all of that, that one issue couldn't be her only concern. "I mean…because well…" Bra added nervously as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger and suddenly was unable to look Vegeta in the eye.

"Well what?" Vegeta questioned accusingly, already knowing that Bra was leading up to a confession.

"Well, if he was in debt, I should know about it, because…" Bra shrugged uneasily, before muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

"Speak up!" Vegeta growled in annoyance.

"Jacques and I have been living together!" Bra blurted in a hurried sentence before her face flushed red and she clutched her hands together in front of her chest.

Living together.

Without realizing what he was doing, Vegeta felt the arms of the chair give way beneath his fingers with audible snaps that drew the attention of their surrounding guests. He clenched his jaw so tightly that he couldn't speak. That was probably a good thing. Because if he could speak, the things he would say might have pushed his daughter right back into the arms of that scum. And the scene it would cause would ruin Trunks' wedding, which Bulma would never let him hear the end of. Vegeta was prepared to fly off while he still had a clear head on his shoulders, but then that wedding announcer spoke up on the microphone again, distracting Vegeta temporarily.

"Our newlyweds are preparing to take off for their honeymoon! Let's all gather 'round to send this fine couple off on a wonderful romantic getaway!" Vegeta growled with barely contained rage as he was suddenly grabbed at by the arm, by the one person he couldn't bring himself to hit at the moment. But oh, he wanted to hit somebody. If only Kakarot had been the one to ecstatically yank on his arm.

"Come on, Vegeta! We need to say goodbye to Trunks and Marron before they leave!" Bulma shouted ecstatically as she pulled at him, oblivious to how futile her weak efforts were in moving him, and the tension resonating off of Vegeta. Vegeta only growled louder as he reluctantly allowed Bulma to move him along towards the growing crowd.

Vegeta sighted Jacques, finally approaching Bra in the huddle, and bared his teeth at the sight of Bra looking startled by her boyfriend's approach. If she was going to embrace him now, Vegeta wouldn't be able to restrain himself from blowing up the entire wedding conglomeration. Vegeta felt his tension slightly abate as Bra pushed away Jacques' reaching hand and focused her attention on Trunks and Marron, who were smiling and waving to their crowd of cheering and foolishly hollering friends.

"Bra!" Jacques called to Bra, loudly enough for Vegeta to notice, even over all the noise the others were making. His tone sounded affronted, but Bra refused to give in. She said something to him before quickly refocusing on Trunks and Marron, deliberately turning her back to Jacques. Vegeta smirked as Jacques frowned sadly at Bra's back and instinctively clutched his hand around something in his pocket. "Bra!" He tried again as Vegeta felt his eye twitch with irritation at the idiot's perseverance. He should have realized by now that he was fighting a losing battle.

"Get away from me, Jacques!" Bra screamed loudly, rattling everyone near the couple, who took a wary step back at the outburst, as even Trunks and Marron frowned in alarm. "I don't want to talk to you right now!" Trunks and Marron exchanged a concerned look, before frowning at Bra. Bra smiled apologetically at the couple, while their getaway limo was just pulling up behind them.

"Bra," Trunks stated seriously as he took a few steps through the parting crowd to approach his sister, "is everything alright?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Jacques before looking to Bra again. Bra scowled before turning away from her brother and crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry, Trunks. Go enjoy your honeymoon. Don't worry about me." Trunks frowned deeply at Bra before glaring at Jacques, just as Vegeta had been doing during the entire interaction.

"Jacques. What's going on?" Trunks questioned accusingly, unwilling to let the incident slide before he would leave. Marron stepped beside Trunks, wrapping her arms around his hanging arm, and frowning with concern at her new sister-in-law.

"It's just something between me and Bra." Jacques answered quickly, until Trunks' assertive move in his direction told him that he needed to be more straightforward. "We just need some time to talk alone!" Jacques explained hurriedly as Bra huffed arrogantly and stubbornly took a distancing step from him.

"There's nothing to talk about, Jacques. I don't like being lied to." A chorus of mortified gasps replaced the cheerful exclamations from the crowd that had been happening only a moment ago. Vegeta felt Bulma pull on his arm, moving towards her children, but he wrapped his fingers around her arm, effortlessly keeping her with him. Everything was being taken care of just fine without Bulma's help. Jacques was a sinking ship. Jacques opened his mouth to explain, but Trunks' domineering look and Bra's quick rebuttal stopped him.

"Go on, Trunks. I'm fine. Jacques' going to head home while I stay here." She added with a firm glare towards Jacques' devastated face. "That's all." She added with a forced smile as she met her brother's protective gaze. Trunks relaxed a bit at the assertion as Marron stepped forward and hugged Bra tightly.

"Call us if you need anything, Bra." Marron offered sweetly, before glaring warningly at Jacques. "And you. I don't want to hear about you upsetting my sister again." She added firmly, in a cold demeanor that Vegeta figured she could have only learned from her robot mother. Jacques gaped speechlessly at the other couple as they finally turned around to approach their awaiting limousine. Vegeta caught a glimpse of tears skimming Bra's eyes as she smiled lovingly at the departing couple.

"Thank you guys." Bra said quietly as Vegeta felt an impulse to protect his daughter, to hold her and keep her from any more possible harm. It was all Jacques' fault that she was upset, and as long as Vegeta was around, he wasn't going to let that ingrate anywhere near his daughter again.

"Bye! Bye!" The wedding guests happily called again and again as the engine started and the limousine sped off with the happy couple. Trunks was married, and he seemed happy. That was good. But Bra, she needed her father. Vegeta wrapped an arm around Bra's waist, pulling her into him as he glared at the younger man from whom he was pulling her.

"Bra…" Jacques began meekly before Bra clutched her father's bicep.

"Go home, Jacques. Just like she said." Vegeta said with such a hard edge his voice that he hardly recognized it himself. He didn't remember the last time he sounded that angry. It was obvious that everyone around them heard him as well.

"Vegeta…" that overly-forgiving joke of a Saiyan pleadingly voiced from the distance. Vegeta snarled in reply before shifting his warning glare towards that intruder. No one would change his feelings on the matter. Kakarot couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling. He never had a daughter.

"Jacques…" Bulma's cool voice approached from behind Vegeta, before her warm, gentle hands glided over and around his free arm, on the side where Bra was not currently holding him tightly, "I think it's best you leave." Whether in agreement with Vegeta and Bra, or simply to protect the young man from his imminent doom if he remained one second longer, the reasonable advice Bulma gave was taken. Jacques dropped his head in defeat towards the ground, before he gave a long exhale and a teary-eyed look at Bra.

"I'll go, then." He sniffed. "I'll just get my stuff…and leave." Vegeta felt Bra stiffly shrug against him.

"Fine."

"Fine." Jacques replied to Bra sadly, before turning tail and heading towards the parking lot.

Vegeta gave Bra a gentle squeeze, silently letting his daughter know that he was there for her. She could always rely on her family. That was all she needed. It was all she would ever need. It seemed she finally realized that she didn't need Jacques in her life.