I honestly have nothing to say about this chapter, but it will progress the story even further. Enjoy!

A few hours after everyone had left the gravity room Bulma had come back to check the analysis board for any electrical anomalies, after letting it slip her mind because of the hilarity that ensued. On her way inside she ran into one of the senior scientist, Baylor, who asked if she needed any assistance, to which she replied "I'll let you know" and proceeded into the dome.

When she got into the control room she was greeted by a very unwelcome guest. "What are you doing here, your majesty?" She asked.

Vegeta was looking down at the control panel, gliding his fingers across the keys. "I want you to show me how to use it." He said without looking up, ignoring her question.

"Right now?" She asked nervously.

"Yes. After what happened earlier I wish to start training as soon as possible."

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm fine. Now show me how to work this thing."

"Yes, sir." And she began pointing at the panel from where she stood. "You just, um- that button, uh-" He stared at her awkward attempt at an explanation, and she deflated in defeat as she attempted to explain to him how to use it from her position in the doorway. She hesitantly walked over and stood next to him. "This button activates the room. After that you're going to set the gravity that you wanna work with-"

"Why?" He asked, staring at the side of her face.

"Why, what?"

"I'm doing strength training. So why would I need negative gravity?"

"The default setting is negative."

"Why?"

"So if I accidentally activated the room I wouldn't kill myself working on this thing." She said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "I could set it to times gravity as its default, if you want."

Vegeta looked back down at the panel. "Aren't you still working on it?"

"Yes. I'll be working on trying to take it higher, and also install a panel within the room so that you could control it from in there."

He nodded. "Then leave it as is." She nodded in acknowledgment of his demand. "We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, Stone."

"Yes, sir." She glanced at him. 'He's messing with me.' She thought. 'Why won't he just come right out and say it?! Instead he just keeps putting emphasis on my name every time he says it.'

He noticed her distant stare and withheld the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm guessing from the way you're staring at me that you know that I know." He said, turning away from the control panel and leaned on it with his arms crossed.

'Is he finally about to admit it?' She looked away anxiously. "You know, what?"

"Bulma,"

(((Verles)))

After their little workout with Vegeta, Kakarot had decided to rest his aching muscles, Verles just followed his lead and retired to his chambers.

When he got to his room he fell face first onto his large bed, then kicked off his boots. But before he could relax, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." He groaned, not bothering to get up.

"Verles?"

"Hello, mother." He muffled through his pillow.

"Is something wrong, son?" She asked, walking over to stand next to the bed. "You seem to be in pain."

He turned his head in her direction and sighed deeply. "Just spending time with father."

She sat down. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Verles." She said sternly.

He sighed. "We were testing out the gravity room,"

"The gravity room? With Stone?" He nodded. "Its finished?"

"Yes. Kakarot was the only one helping Stone at first, but then I showed up, then father showed up and I don't know, I-" He paused. "I don't know why I do it. It doesn't change anything."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do what?"

"Challenge him."

"Verles," She breathed. "You know how he can get sometimes. You are just entertaining him."

"I know that, mother!" He said, getting into a sitting position. "But he jus-"

"But, nothing, Verles." Kaede said, rubbing her temple trying to calm herself. "You are both men, and men are rough on one another. But you can't take it personally, son."

"Except he doesn't treat me like a man." He said, keeping his calm. "He treats me like a child, and in the presence of others no less." The others he referred to were actually one person in particular. "It's embarrassing!"

"Have you tried talking to him about?"

"What's the point, he's never going to change!"

"He is a very prideful being. But I'm sure if you just voiced your opinion every once in a while he might have a change of heart, he might even be willing to apologize."

He snorted. "The day father sets his pride aside and apologizes, is the day Hell freezes over."

She giggled. "Well, on behalf of your father, I apologize." She said sincerely.

He shook his head. "It's not your job to apologize for him."

"That is correct." She said, smiling, brushing his hair out of his face. "But, as your mother and his mate, it becomes my job."

"I don't want it."

"Well, I'm giving it. Will you not accept my apology?" She asked jokingly.

Verles smiled at his mother. Even though she played the role of dutiful queen very well, she was always a much better parent. For all of the compassion, love, and attention he didn't receive from his father, Kaede tried to give in double. She listens to him, she spoke with him, and not in a belittling manner. He adored her efforts. She told him everyday how much she loves him. Whereas with his father it was only implied. That is why he found it so much easier to not be a soldier around his mother. And being mate to the King of all Saiyans, she understood.

"I will speak with your father tonight."

"Thank you, mother." And he pulled her into a hug.

"You are welcome, son." She said, returning the hug. "Try not to be so emotional with him." And pulled away.

"Yes, mother." He said, lying back down.

She stood up from the bed. "Well, I'm guessing from your groaning that you are in pain," He nodded. "So I will let you rest." She walked towards the door and disappeared through it leaving only Verles.

"I wonder where father could be." He wondered out loud before drifting off to sleep.

(((Vegeta/Bulma)))

"What?"

"Bulma, I know exactly who you are." Vegeta said, looking directly at her.

"How long have you known?" She asked quietly, staring at the wall.

"Since that day in the throne room." He wasn't lying. He did believe that she was gone up until that point.

"How?"

"How, what?"

"How do you know that name?" She asked nervously, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I've known the name for quite some time, it just took me a while to find its owner." He said truthfully. An awkward silence fell upon them before he spoke again. "I thought it was clever the way you used your mother's maiden name."

She looked at him for the first time. "How do you know my mother's maiden name?"

He smirked. "You told me."

She actually appeared confused. "I've never mentioned my mother to anyone."

He thought about it for a moment. "In the throne room, you said it was a family name, and since your surname is Brief I assumed that Stone came from your mother's side." He explained. "Others never give me enough credit for my observation skills."

"That was months ago, so why wait until now to tell me this?"

"Constant interference's." She looked as though she would ask a question. "And what I do is no one else's business."

Bulma felt truly unnerved by what he just confessed. "That's why you wanted me to build this thing, because you knew who I was." She stated. It all made perfect sense.

"Yes, it is." He said, staring into her frightened eyes before she looked away. "But, there is something else that I've wanted to tell you."

"What else is there?" She asked apathetically, crossing the room to sit in the chair and buried her face in her hands.

'More than you could possibly imagine.' He watched her rub her hands over her face and stop at her hair. He sighed. 'I can't stop now that I've already begun!' He thought to himself as averted his gaze down to his arms. "What if I told you that I knew you could do it because y-" He was abruptly cut off by a sudden intrusion.

"Stone, are you in there? I wanted to speak with you about something."

Bulma picked up her head at the sound of the queen calling for. "Your highness?" She said, as the woman came into the room.

Vegeta, who still hadn't looked up, was lightly shaking his head. "Constant interference's."

She looked towards the king when she heard the words under his breath and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh! Hello, Vegeta. Am I interrupting something?" Said Kaede as she stared between the two of them

Vegeta finally looked up, feeling her gaze on him. The two of remained silent, as if waiting to see what the other person will say. Bulma saw that she would have to be the one to break the awkward eye-contact and speak for the both of them. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked looking at the black-haired woman.

"I wanted to speak with you about an incident this morning." The queen now said, now glaring at the human beauty.

"An incident?"

"An incident involving Verles, Kakarot, and you, Vegeta." She said calmly, still staring directly at Bulma.

"That wasn't anything. We were helping Stone test the room." Vegeta said, finally looking at the queen.

"And you are finished now?"

"Yes." He said simply.

"Hm." Kaede began staring suspiciously at her mate. "So why are you still here?"

"She was demonstrating how to operate the room so that I could train without her being here."

The queen narrowed her eyes. "And how is that going?" She asked, directing it the other woman in the room.

"Oh, me?!" Bulma said, pointing to herself. She had been silently watching the two royals have their conversation until she noticed the woman staring at out of the corner of her eye. "I uh- I think I covered all there is for right now. Maybe in a few days, when I'm done updating everything, I might have more to show you, but that's it for now."

"Well then, I guess I'll be on my way now." He said as he began walking towards the door.

She stood from the chair. "But sir, isn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

He stopped just beside Kaede in the threshold. "We will finish our discussion another time." And he disappeared out the door.

"What was that about?" Kaede asked.

"What was what about?" Bulma asked back, and the queen did not look amused. "Oh, that?!" She said, walking over to the control panel trying to make herself seem busy. "He uh- He wanted to discuss with me- um- about his ideas for some new features." She stammered out.

"New features?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, new features!" She said, louder than she should have, before clearing her throat. "The updates that I mentioned a few minutes ago." She said much calmer and quieter this time.

"Alright, then."

Bulma gathered herself before she turned around to face the intimidating woman with a neutral face. "Wasn't there something you came in here for, your highness?"

"Yes." She said, stepping more into the room. "I wanted to ask you about what happened this morning."

"Like the king said , that wasn't anything. It really wasn't." She said shaking her head. "I'm guessing that you've spent your fair share of time around men."

"Yes. As the queen, it is my duty to accompany to the king to certain meetings and all events." Kaede said straight as pin.

"So I'm sure you've been the fly on the wall to some very interesting conversations between men."

"Men have a different way of expressing themselves." She said crossing her arms across her chest.

"Which, majority of the time, has testosterone involved." Bulma said in a matter of factly. "And what happened earlier was no different."

Kaede stared at her for the longest time before saying anything. "I suppose you may be right."

"Thank you, your highness." She said, a little stunned that the woman agreed with her. 'Kaede actually seems kind of normal right now.'

"But you couldn't possibly know what it means to be a man of entitlement."

'And there it is.' She thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. "Yeah. I guess you're right about that." Bulma said as she leaned against the panel. "If that's all you wanted. I would really like to get back to work now."

"Very well, then. I'll be on my way as well." Kaede said as turned around and strode towards the door. "Oh, and Stone."

"Yes, your highness?" She said, holding herself back from saying anything smug.

"You will have the opportunity to resume that discussion with the king tonight."

"What are you talking about?" Bulma asked, confusion written all over her delicate features.

"You will be joining us for dinner tonight." Kaede said looking over her shoulder at the woman.

"What?!"

"Must I repeat myself?"

"No, your highness. I just wanna know why."

"I would love to sit and listen to you and the king exchange ideas." She said darkly.

She cringed at her tone. "That's a very nice offer but I don't think that I'll be able to make it, so I'm going to have to decline." She said quickly.

"I wasn't asking." The queen said menacingly and glided through the door.

Bulma was left behind in the control room feeling confused and annoyed by what just happened.

She sighed deeply, sitting back down, and burying her face in her hands again. "Fuck!"

(((Kakarot)))

"That was exactly the thing I needed." Kakarot said as he stretched while walking out of his bathroom.

After his nap he decided to take a hot shower to soothe his aching muscles.

Upon entering the room he went over to his drawer and found a pair of underwear and sweat pants then dropped the towel from around his waist and slid them on one by one.

Before he could find a shirt there was a gentle knock at the door, so he abandoned his search and grabbed another towel to dry his dripping wet hair before putting it around his neck and leaving his bedroom to answer the door.

When he opened the door he barely got a word out before he was pushed back into the room.

"Bulma what are you doing here?"

She was frantically looking left and right outside the door to make sure no one saw her coming in before closing the door behind herself then walked past him and sat down on the couch in his living room.

"What's wrong?" He asked calmly, walking over to her and sitting in the chair next to the couch.

She inhaled deeply. "Kaede wants me to join her and her family for dinner tonight!" She blurted out before exhaling.

His went wide and his mouth hung ajar. "What?"

"That's exactly what I said!" Bulma exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.

"Wait, wait, wait." He said as he held up his hands. "I just want to be sure that I heard you correctly. Did you say that you're having dinner with Vegeta tonight?"

"Well, I didn't actually say Vegeta, but I'm pretty sure they come as a package deal."

"So it was Kaede who offered?"

"She didn't offer shit. Just like Vegeta didn't give me any choice in whether or not I was going to build the gravity room, Kaede didn't either." She said, leaning back into the couch.

"Kaede?" She nodded. "But why?"

"She says that she would love to sit and listen to me and the king exchange ideas." She said in an exaggerated regal voice, which elicited a hearty chuckle from Kakarot. "This is going to be a nightmare."

"Well you did say that it was the family, that means that Verles will be there, so it can't be all that bad."

She scoffed loudly. "Yeah, because he's so stable around his father." Bulma said sarcastically, lying her head back.

He nodded. "Yeah, I caught that earlier. Now I'm thinking that that wasn't the first time."

"He's does that every single time! Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, I love him. But his behavior doesn't exactly help us be discreet." She said honestly.

"I understand." He said thoughtfully. "So what are you gonna do?"

She lifted her head up to look at him. "Haven't you been listening? I only have one option."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything." She said, getting up and walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

She turned around but still continued to walk to the door. "I have a dinner date to get to."

"They don't have dinner for another hour."

"Great! Now I have time to think about something to say that won't get me maimed." She said, grabbing the doorknob.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He offered.

She raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"

"Of course." He said standing up.

She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You are a lifesaver, Kakarot!" She said, and kissed his cheek.

"I already knew that, but it's nice to hear it anyway." He said smiling.

She pulled back. "Wait. They're not expecting you. Won't they have a problem with you randomly showing up?"

"We dine together often. And if they ask I'll just make something up." He said shrugging.

"Thank you, Kakarot!"

"No problem."

"I'll see you in an hour." She said going back to the door. "Oh, and Kakarot."

"Yeah?"

"Wear a shirt." She joked, pointing at his bare chest and leaving out the door, failing to notice the person watching her exit the room.

An hour later, Bulma stood outside the royal dining hall nervously ringing her hands.

"Dinner time."

Keep this in mind for the next chapter, Kaede probably didn't tell Vegeta or Verles that she invited Bulma to dinner. So expect things to take a turn for the awkward next chapter. (The awkward level will be over 9000!) Review this chapter and tell me what you think. Until next time stay tuned to find the key to MyLockedHeart!