AN:

First off, I was very pleasantly surprised at the response my last update received. I am very grateful to you all for sticking with me, even though at times I can be pretty inconsistent with posting. I never want to abandon this story, and if there ever comes a time when I feel that way I will be sure to at least let you guys know. I put a lot of work into The 7 Year Gap over the course of the years, and it helped me grow a lot as a writer. I want to at least keep it going until it can receive the ending it deserves. I think this story has earned a proper ending.

Second of all, I have gotten a lot of questions regarding Bulla. I do plan to write about her entrance into the world. Right now, I don't know when that will be. We had a 6 month jump in the last chapter, and I'm not sure if we will see another skip in time before Bulla comes (or if I will just keep writing enough to fill up the rest of the 7 years) I have been planning to write about Bulla's birth since before it was covered in Super, so my version will of course be my own. :)

Third, I did end up making a Tumblr to post updates on. I have the same username on there (surelysaiyangood), so hopefully you can find me fairly easily. I did intend to make a twitter (for those of you that don't use Tumblr), but it has been giving me a lot of trouble. You don't have to follow me if you don't want to, but definitely keep my Tumblr in mind in case I go a while without updating and you start to wonder. I'll be posting updates on there!

Fourth, I wanted to give a shoutout to Kitty in the Box. I am not sure if you receive the PMs I have sent you, but I really want you to know that I appreciate all of your kind words. I also want you to know that I read the review you left when I recently re-published Anyone But Him, and it meant a lot to me. Thank you for being so encouraging and caring!

Once again thank you to everyone! I wasn't sure if anyone would care about this story anymore, and I was overwhelmed with how great you guys are. :) It really is inspiring.


.

"Okay, now what is it you needed to see me for?" Mrs. Briefs was taking a dainty seat across from the disheveled saiyan. He had been acting so beside himself - so uncharacteristically unassured and nervous - that she'd served him a plate of stir-fry to help calm his nerves. Vegeta quickly devoured the food he'd been given, but the meal didn't seem to help at all. He was now sporting a look on his face as if he were sitting on a rusty nail, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably from one side of the chair to other when she asked him to start talking. Mrs. Briefs couldn't help but smile at the man in front of her. It was moments like these when she could really see what Bulma liked about him. How fascinating it was to witness such a self-proclaimed monster act so utterly vulnerable!

"Well... the thing is..." Vegeta mumbled, and then his voice broke into a cough. He put a fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat, and Mrs. Briefs could only grin even wider. He really was putting himself out, wasn't he! She could just guess that he was going to say something about Bulma, and he was actually embarrassed to do it! Now, how cute was this?!

"It's about Bulma - and do NOT tell her I came here." He finally managed through his coughs, which confirmed her suspicions. His eyes were narrowed at the amused expression Mrs. Briefs had on display, and his fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckles were now a pale shade of white. The blonde grandmother only nodded, gracing the saiyan to continue in confidentiality. "She said I had to..." His teeth were grit. His eyes were wide, the lids quivering as he shifted his weight again. God, he hated this. He really, really did!

"Yes, sweetie? What did she say?"

"Damnit!" His fists banged down on the table, causing the dishes to rattle. "I told her I want to call her my wife, and she said no! Do you understand?! She said NO! I want to know WHY!"

"… Oh."

Easing back into his seat, Vegeta was fuming with the exertion of his confession. His shoulders were tense, and his typically chiseled cheeks were now red and poofy. He was staring down at the table, like a child awaiting to be lectured for something naughty they had done. It took Mrs. Briefs a moment to register what he had just admitted to, because he said it in such a strange way. And when she finally realized just what this all meant, his hostile demeanor was the only thing that kept her from jumping for joy. The saiyan really did look like a young boy who had just admitted to a horrible wrongdoing, and it was because he had been rejected of a marriage proposal? What a romantic little - oh – goodness! She could feel her arms quivering with the desire to just take him into a tight hug! How happy she was to know that Vegeta cared so deeply for her daughter! "Well that's odd, dear. Bulma never mentioned anything about a proposal to me." She was really smiling now! Wow - he wanted to marry her daughter!

She just couldn't believe it! And he was coming to her for advice?

What a dear!

"It was last night. I told her I want her to be my wife, and she said no." Vegeta wasn't avoiding eye contact with Mrs. Briefs, so he couldn't see how excited she was. All he could do was repeat this fact out loud, almost as if trying to process it, himself. He didn't want to admit that there was no formal proposal – not the way Mrs. Briefs assumed there was. And he really didn't want to admit that he didn't even know what all an Earth proposal entailed.

"Just like that?" Mrs. Briefs giggled. "Oh, honey, it's so simple! If that's how you proposed, then that's the problem! That is not the way to do this!"

'Yes, that's what Bulma said.' The saiyan thought, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Every girl wants to be swept off her feet during proposals! Don't you know that, V?"

"I don't see why!" God - he hated this. He really, really hated this. More so with each second that passed. Curse these Earth women – and their expectations - for putting him in such an emasculating position. Curse them!

"You don't see why? Well, what about where you come from? Didn't they have weddings and engagements there? Let's think about this, honey."

"In case you missed the announcement, I was a child the last time I saw my planet, and I obviously had no interest in the activities of the mating traditions. The adults I interacted with and could have learned from were all below me, anyway! But what I do remember was much different than the ridiculous customs found on this stupid planet." Vegeta was now on the defense, and it showed. "We had no concept of husband nor wife, as you people put so much emphasis on. We only had mates, and that was all we needed. When the time came, we selected an exclusive mate."

"Eugh..." Mrs. Briefs couldn't hide the twisting of her face at that description.

"Do not scoff, Woman." Vegeta, who was starting to feel less vulnerable now that he was the one doing the educating, was amused by Mrs. Briefs. She could really be so simple minded! "Things were much more straightforward on my planet. You people would do well to take note of that. When one decided they wanted to make a female their mate, all they needed to do was claim her."

"Uh… Claim her?! Well, how sweet!" Mrs. Briefs, who decided she had heard enough, felt the need to sarcastically interrupt before the saiyan had a chance to go into even more disgusting detail. She was already regretting her decision to ask him what the tradition was on his native planet. "Honey, I'll let you in on something. Us women - and especially Bulma – erm… We don't like to be claimed."

"Evidently, not."

"Sweetie, you need to make Bulma feel like this is as much her decision as it is yours. And she's gonna want to be able to look back on this moment for the rest of her life and feel proud of it. It can't just be a normal conversation! Like I said, sweep her off her feet. Do somethin' special that'll remind her how lucky and unique she is."

"Oh..." Vegeta resented that he was having to have this conversation so close and personal with Mrs. Briefs. Why didn't he try to do this over the phone system? He wished he could hide his face, and she was looking at him with such soft eyes! As if he were some kind of cuddly kitten! "What do you-"

"You wanna know what I suggest? Well, there's something you should know about Bulma."

Something new to know about Bulma? Well, he had to hear this. The saiyan's dark eyes became slightly less hostile as he leaned forward in his seat - which caused another giggle to erupt from Mrs. Briefs.

"Before she met you and became a mom, Bulma was a bit of a wild child. Especially in her teens, ugh. That girl could not sit still at all. She was always ditching school to go off somewhere, always gettin' in trouble with her teachers. She was always running away from home, too, and for weeks on end! She'd leave to go explore other cities, and we could not get control over that little fireball. You know how young she was when she first went off for those Dragon Balls? Why - Bulma's always had a hunger for adventure!"

Hm…

The saiyan was smirking at the idea of a smaller Bluehead storming out of a building while flipping the bird at some hysterical professor. He was intrigued! Vegeta certainly had to admit that in her adulthood she definitely put more focus on Trunks than she did on anything else. Though, in his eyes, she still was a fireball. She was hotheaded and bigmouthed, and she never cut herself short of anything. Constantly presenting herself as a challenge, the saiyan prince was always on his toes when it came to the Bluehead. It was just that now she was simply more... routine.

"So, you know what? Take that into consideration! Bulma still had a travel bug in her up until she met you. It only went away when she had Trunks, and lemme tell ya, I don't think it was easy for her. Did you ever notice how depressed she seemed when he was a newborn? I think she missed the fast life, and it was hard to give that up! But, you know, she needed to grow up for her baby, and she did that! Oh - I'm so proud of her! She's such a good mama! So anyway, take her back to that for a day! Remind her of what it was like to not have all these responsibilities! Make her feel like she's on top of the world, and then propose. But make sure you ask her to marry you - don't just demand it! She won't like it if you tell her what to do."

"Right." Well, that was much more helpful than he could have anticipated. Vegeta was still unsure of what to do about the Bluehead, but at least he now knew where to begin with his brainstorming. Not to mention the fact that he had a new perspective of the woman that was Bulma Briefs... The saiyan knew that the Bluehead had been extremely emotional when she became pregnant with child, but he had attributed all of that to the fights and disagreements that had occurred between them. There had been more going on with her than just that?

When Trunks was born, Vegeta had been reluctant to face the concept of fatherhood. In fact - it terrified him. But Bulma had always been so stern and acted as if parenthood had been the only natural course of action. Did it really scare her more than she let on? Had she been just as daunted by all of this as he had been? Was he an asshole for assuming that she was perfectly happy with the situation, and perhaps had even conceived the boy on purpose?

Kami - if modern Bulma wasn't tough enough as it was! Young Bulma sounded like an absolute badass! Vegeta was now regretting that he hadn't allowed himself to get to know the Woman more before Trunks had been born. She had tried several times, and he had always done his own part to push her away. He'd encountered her briefly on Namek, but all he had really known of her was what she was around the house, and how stunning she was, and how protective he had been of her - even against his own judgment. But, had he involved himself more, he might have gotten to see more of the adventurous side that Mrs. Briefs was describing. Now her life revolved solely around her job and Trunks, and the saiyan was becoming excited to change that. If only for a day or two, he would make her see more... If travel and adventure was something that Bulma secretly craved, then he was going to give her just that. All he needed to do was figure out what exactly that would be, and when it was going to happen...

Mrs. Briefs could tell she had said something to resonate with him, and because of this she allowed a sigh of excitement. This act alone was not enough to satisfy her, though. She had been holding in her reaction long enough, and now it was time to let it all out. "Oh! V!" Her chair squeaked as she pushed herself back from the table. "I can't wait until you're officially my SON! Oh! I'm gonna start buying wedding magazines right now! I know Bulma doesn't like planning events, but I'll make sure she gets excited about this! And her dress will-"

"I told you not to touch me!" Vegeta screamed, and it sounded more like a wail. Mrs. Briefs had run around the table and thrown herself onto his lap, squeezing him in for a tight hug. "Get off me!"

"I will, darling, but just let me have this for a bit. You're such a dear! A cute, sweet, beautiful dear!"

"Retract that statement this instant!" His voice was curling, and it actually sounded as if he was going to cry. "You - you take that BACK!"

.

Nearly two months went by after Vegeta's conversation with Bulma, and throughout this time the subject of marriage was not brought up again. Trunks was becoming more than a full-time job, his attitude and comebacks growing more witty by the day. As a result Bulma was starting to rather enjoy her time as work, since it served as a break from the exhausting act of chasing her son all around the house – and listening to his arguments.

It was true that the subject of engagements or weddings had not come up again since the night of Trunks' birthday party, and Bulma hadn't done anything to change that. Surely it wasn't that she had forgotten about the conversation. It had taken her days to calm down after the occurrence, and she'd spent quite a few baths thinking the entire thing through as she soaked. The thought of Vegeta actually suggesting such a thing made her heart race, but as soon as her mood started to rise with giddiness, it would very quickly drop. She'd already told him that she understood if he was not up to par with all of Earth's customs and traditions, but if Vegeta was actually serious about such a thing as marriage then why wouldn't he have done something more than just yell at her about it in their bedroom? Surely, even for saiyan standards, that would have to be quite low. And the man had acted as if nothing happened after that, his demeanor nor conversations shifting in the slightest. It was as if he'd said it just to see how she would react, and he wasn't taking anything she'd brought up with regard.

If he had TRULY wanted this, like he had so thoughtfully barked, then wouldn't he have tried again? Or at least acknowledged that her point about deserving a better proposal was true? She knew it wasn't like him to apologize so easily. But even if he felt he had done nothing wrong, wouldn't he have told her that much? Wouldn't he have done something?

Anything?

It was clear that, whatever it was that happened between them two months ago, it hadn't been anything more than a very confusing chat. And so, eventually, Bulma was able to chalk it up to just that. She was a bit miffed by the matter, but once she made this conclusion it was easy enough to forget about. Especially when she had so much going on in her life. For instance, the Bluehead was cursing herself as she drove home from work one Friday afternoon, because she knew she would have to stay up all night to finalize a report she had promised to her father. Somehow, in spite of her "Type A" nature in the office, she had managed to assume that the deadline hadn't been for another two weeks…

"What was I thinking?!" She howled as she closed in on her residence, the dome-shaped building drawing closer ahead. Her palm slammed down on the steering wheel, but this did nothing to make her feel better. "Bulma, you IDIOT! You're so stupid, stupid, stupid!"

The verbal lashing she was laying on herself hadn't subsided by the time she landed her hover car, and the Bluehead was still scolding herself as she stormed into the house. "You're going to get no sleep now - and for what?! This is all YOUR fault, you idiot!"

"What did I do?" A deep voice uttered, and Bulma didn't bother looking Vegetqa's way as she threw her keys down on the kitchen counter. "You really suck sometimes, Bulma!"

"Woman."

"Not now, Vegeta! Gah! I spent all week looking forward to going home on Friday evening to have a long bath, and now look! I'll be spending the next 60 hours preparing a-"

"Woman, stop."

"This really sucks! Why did I tell myself I had until next week to start?! I've been so busy with-"

"WOMAN!"

Bulma was in the process of pulling open the refrigerator door so she could prepare a quick meal before locking herself up in the home office for the rest of the night. But the saiyan had swooped in from behind, wrapped an arm around her waist, and forcefully whisked her away from the kitchen appliance. "Stop talking, Woman!"

"Vegeta - what the -"

"You aren't going to he do anything of the sort tonight. I want to go out." The saiyan was pulling her out of the kitchen, her heels dragging across the tiled floor as she gasped. "Did you listen to what I just said? I can't-!"

"YOU are coming with me, and whatever you have going on at that repulsive office can wait."

"I promised my-"

"I saw your father earlier today when I dropped Trunks off. He knows that I want to go out, and he did not mention any reason for you not to." They were in the living room now, and Vegeta shoved Bulma down on her favorite couch. Her body bounced under the springs of the cushions, an act that effectively worked in knocking her out of the neurotic rant she'd been so focused on. "Wait a minute! You… Going out?! Since when-"

"I am tired of confining myself within these walls all day while you run off to indulge in whatever-it-is you do at your father's business. I want to go out and find relief from such monotony, and you're coming with me. Understand?"

"Stop interrupting me!" Bulma spat, but it was hard to argue with that. She was taken aback by this uncharacteristic demand, and the idea of a night out with Vegeta was too rare and endearing to pass up. "If you're serious, then sure. But I need to talk to my Dad first. Just so you know, he'll be pissed with me for dropping the ball on this project. I'll go if he tells me not to worry about it - but that's definitely not happening."

"Fine by me." The saiyan waved his hand towards a random wall. "Why bother calling him - let's just go over there and discuss matters face-to-face."

"Of all days to decide you don't want to be a hermit." The Bluehead sighed, but there was a grin on her lips. She allowed the saiyan to take her by the hand and pull her to her feet, and then the two were off to pay her parents a visit next door.

"Right." What she said was true. Vegeta didn't find any offense in her accurate observation, but he did have his comeback ready. "Of all days, you had to pick today to decide you want to work yourself mad."

"I do that every day, Vegeta."

"No kidding."

.

"Are you kidding me?!" Bulma was flabbergasted. Mr. Briefs was easy-going and doting as a father, but he was also an entrepreneur who had spent the majority of his life building his world renowned empire. The Bluehead had received her work ethic and her temper from her old man, though her short fuse expanded far outside the realm of work. She had been expecting to receive a bit of a tongue-lashing and a lecture on how she was "raised better than to lose track of deadlines", and she had been fully prepared to tell Vegeta "I told you so".

But, even after Bulma explained her grave mistake, all Mr. Briefs did was laugh. "Oh, my dear, that was taken care of weeks ago! You've been so busy and I knew you'd forget about it until the last minute! So, I had a few assistants work overtime to help me with that instead."

"You WHAT?!" The Bluehead nearly fell back. She was so relieved that she wanted to run to her father and jump in his arms, as if she were a small schoolgirl again. Yet she was also pissed. "I was freaking out today, DAD! You didn't think it was important to make sure I knew it was taken care of? I was going to work all-!"

"Woman, he told you not to worry about it." Vegeta cut in. He was standing right behind Bulma, and she could hear the laugh in his voice. It went without saying that he was the one thinking 'I told you so.'

"Don't be so nutty, my girl! I didn't want to bother you with it. I already told Vegeta that you shouldn't worry about work this weekend. I saw him earlier today. " The old man's mustache was bouncing as he spoke, and he was chuckling with every two words that left his mouth. He was so used to his daughter's temper by now that he hardly took note when she yelled. "If he wants to go out, then have fun!"

"Well, I just..."

"Woman, I'm growing impatient. Are you ready to go yet?"

Slack jawed, Bulma turned from one man to the other. What was all of this?! Vegeta wanting to spend a night on the town seemed too good to be true, and her father had actually done her a favor? Usually he had the habit of piling work on her desk, telling her that if anyone could do it, she'd be the one. So, what was this?

… What... on...?

Before she could finish the thought, Vegeta had the Bluehead by the wrist and was pulling her towards the basement stairs. "Let's go, already!" He grumbled. All she could do was nod, a goofy smile stretching across her features as the excitement began to stew. Mr. Briefs waved his daughter a cheerful "goodbye", and that was the last Bulma saw of him before she was ushered up into the main room.

… Mrs. Briefs had enough self awareness to know that she was not a good actress. The last thing she wanted to do was make Bulma any more suspicious than she predictably already was. And so, as soon as she heard the couple walk into the house to speak with Mr. Briefs, she ran upstairs with Trunks to barricade them both in her bedroom until the young couple left. It was for this reason that Bulma didn't get the slightest chance to speak to her mother, nor her son, before she left with the saiyan - and she certainly didn't commence on their trip quietly...

"Okay, now WHAT is really going on?!"

Vegeta had just led the Bluehead into her father's garage, and was calmly strolling towards the spaceship that was sitting so prominently in the center of the room. He shrugged as he approached the giant morsel, refusing to acknowledge his Woman's question - or that anything happening was out of the ordinary, for that matter. "Are you coming or not?"

She was so curious that she obediently scampered into the ship as the saiyan impatiently held the door open for her. "I mean it, Vegeta. What are we doing in here?"

"I keep telling you we're going out." The saiyan's tone was flat. And he was still acting so damned calm, too! As soon as Bulma entered the ship he slammed the door shut behind her. Without another word he made for the control panel, which was located at the far end of the main room. He took a seat before pulling on a lever that brought the engines to life. "Are you going to secure yourself, or will you just stand there like a fool until your body is thrown from a window during takeoff?"

"I-" Bulma started, but her words faded fast. The engines were growing louder as she stood by the door. Feeling dumb, she made a dash for the couch that was laying in the middle of the main room. All of the furniture in the spaceship was bolted to the floor to ensure that nothing would slide ajar during flight. The Bluehead fished out a seatbelt that was hidden inside the cushions, strapping them across her waist.

Once this was done, Vegeta took no hesitation in taking off. He didn't even bother to ask if she was ready. "Finally!" He growled as he clicked a few buttons and pulled another level down from its neutral position. The spaceship reared back and took aim as the roof of the garage began to slide open to allow clearance for takeoff. And then, a moment later, they were shooting up into the sky. Bulma couldn't help but smile at the changing force of pressure, her body being pulled tightly into the couch as they rose. This was the first time Vegeta was driving her anywhere, and the way he maneuvered vehicles matched his personality perfectly. So far, his handling of the ship had been quick and straight to the point It was a surge for the body to adjust to such drastically shifting speeds, but Bulma was rather enjoying the experience. Her heart was pounding with adrenaline as the spaceship peaked through the atmosphere, increasing in momentum with every meter. It only took a few seconds for all light peering in through the windows to disappear completely, and the Bluehead knew they were in space.

A low humming sound came from the depths of the ship as the internal pressure was adjusted to accommodate the change of gravity. With that, so did the sensation of quick speed dissipate. It now felt as if they weren't moving at all and were merely floating, although Bulma very well knew the ship was actively wafting even further away from her home planet with every breath she took. She was grinning as she looked over to her prince, feeling as if she'd just finished riding an intense roller coaster and was about to step off at the loading station. "Finally!" Vegeta sighed as he unstrapped himself from the captain's chair.

"So..." The Bluehead replied. There would be no turning back now – they were officially embarking on some trip that she knew absolutely nothing of, and her curiosity was peaked. "You wanna tell me what all of this is about, yet?"

"You ask too many questions." The saiyan was making his way towards the kitchen, which was really just a few appliances that had been shoved into a corner of the main room, along with a few cabinets and a countertop. "Perhaps you should stop interrogating everything I do. And stop making so many assumptions, while you're at it! You decided I wanted to spend an evening in the city, but when did I ever say that? I told you I wanted to go out. I never said where."

"Well, I'm asking you now. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere I want." Vegeta was fishing for something in one of the cabinets. "I've been wanting to go explore for quite some time, Woman. I had your father upgrade this vessel so it'll arrive to destinations quicker than before."

"Yeah, well our technology has grown quite a bit since the last time this ship was used."

"Precisely. And now that it won't take me several months just to travel, I want to test the ship out. I want to visit a few places I know of." He was now walking across the living room. Vegeta was carrying a bottle of chardonnay in one hand, an empty glass in the other. He took a seat at the armchair perpendicular to where Bulma was sitting before finally popping open the bottle.

"This is exactly why I wanted to know." The Bluehead protested, eying the saiyan's drink as he poured himself a glass. "Who knows how long we'll be gone, and we don't even have Trunks!"

"The boy will be fine with your parents." Vegeta kicked his feet onto the coffee table as he reclined back into his chair. "He's used to being with them."

"We need to go back. I want my son."

"Woman, relax." The saiyan took a slow sip from his glass. There was something incredibly comforting about the idea of drifting through the dark universe that he was so accustomed to. Almost as if visiting an old friend that he hadn't spoken to in ages, a peaceful excitement was building inside as he sipped down his fancy Earth drink. This felt good. "Really, Woman. I already told you that I had your father upgrade the system in preparation for this trip. I have spoken to the boy many times while you've been working, and he is aware that we will be gone. He was rather excited for us to leave, actually. Evidently your mother promised him a trip to that theme park while we're away."

"He may be okay being separated from me, but I'm not!" Panic was starting the set in as the Bluehead thought grimly about how far away her baby boy was, and how long it would be until she could hold him again. Kami - what was Vegeta thinking? He was telling her to relax, but how could she when she'd left one of her biggest passions back home?! She felt as if a limb had just been chopped off!

"Neither of us have had a break since the boy was born." Vegeta was grumbling now. "I've made it a goal that we will both get something out of this trip. I will keep us for as long as it takes."

Bulma bit her lip at this. For all intents and purposes, had her boyfriend just kidnapped her? And, of course, she knew that he was being serious. Where the motivation for all of this was coming from, she had no idea. But there was no doubt that he really would keep them on this ship until she admitted defeat, just to prove a point. Vegeta kept telling her to calm down, stop asking questions, and had even ordered her to relax. If that was what he wanted, she'd be able to get home again sooner if she just obliged. Or, at least, if she pretended to...

"Maybe you're right." She shrugged. "But what am I supposed to do? I could have at least packed some things to keep me occupied. I'm already bored."

"I keep telling you this has been weeks in the making." The saiyan had already finished his glass and was pouring himself another. "I have taken the liberty of making sure you'll have things to do."

"Great!" Bulma stood and began to make her way to the bedroom that had been built into the ship. "Tell me where my workstation is. I can get caught up on a lot of things while-"

"I forbade any work to be done while we're out, Woman, and I made this clear with your father." The saiyan was smirking now, listening to the Bluehead exploring as he swirled his drink in his glass. He was in complete control over this situation, and he was loving it. "You have those silly magazines you put so much energy into reading, and you have your other essentials."

Other essentials, of course, was the vague term that Vegeta used to describe normal pass-times that anyone might enjoy. He used the phrase nearly every day when he spoke to the Bluehead and happened to walk in on her during the few breaks she would allow herself throughout the day. When she wasn't chasing Trunks around or doing chores around the house, the saiyan knew he could always count on walking into the living room to see the Bluehead stretched out on the couch as she filled in a crossword puzzle, flipped through a fashion magazine, or even yelled at some bizarre show she was watching on TV. "At it again with your other essentials?" Vegeta would always grump, and Bulma would roll her eyes while trying to mask the smile that would always manage to break through. "Of course."

Now he had used the term again, and an enthusiastic gasp was heard from across the ship. "My video games!" Loud footsteps clapped on the floor, and soon Bulma had reappeared in front of the saiyan. She was happily waving a handheld gaming device in the air, as if it was a hard-earned trophy. "I'll have enough time to start from the beginning! It's been forever since I've been able to get invested in any of these!"

"I know." Vegeta was feigning a bored yawn, even though he was secretly thrilled that she was finally exhibiting signs of letting loose. "My point exactly."

"And my books! I've been dying for a chance to start on the exact ones you brought! How did you know?!"

"I find it insulting that you assume I don't take observation of your goals."

"Well... I'm still not happy about this being schemed behind my back." The Bluehead said this, yet she was doing a terrible job at masking her delight. The woman hadn't once stopped smiling since she came sprinting out of the side room. She walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a glass that was identical to Vegeta's, before returning to retrieve the half-full bottle of chardonnay.

"Be careful with that, Woman. Your tolerance is laughable."

"It's gotten better." Bulma frowned as she poured herself a small drink. "You know I've been having a glass of wine with all of my Friday evening baths. I've been building myself back up."

"Just be mindful."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Bulma's heart was still heavy with the desire to hold her son, but she truly was excited at the aspect of getting more rest and relaxation than she was accustomed to. The fact that she was being forced into this helped tremendously with her separation guilt. Bulma was on her way to run a bath and commence reading one of the many books that had been lingering on her "to-do" list, but she made sure to stop by Vegeta's side first. Bending down, she planted an affectionate smack on his forehead before scurrying off to the bathroom.

Eying her rear as she disappeared, Vegeta could only smirk as she left him to himself. Kami, it felt good to be in space again. The dark of the abyss was the environment he grew up knowing best. And, while he had much preferred to be alone during the majority of the time he'd spent here in his youth, what he was experiencing now was a rather pleasant change. How much better it felt to know that, not only was he not going to be traveling alone, but he'd be doing this with his Woman, too!

The tub was now being filled in the other room, and Vegeta nodded before taking another sip from his glass. He was going to have to pay her a visit before she decided she was done soaking and got out of the tub. Yes, he rather fancied the idea of joining her in there. But she quite enjoyed long baths, and he knew he had time. So, he poured himself another glass before reclining back further and tucking an arm under his head.

It had been so intoxicating to see her smile the way she just had, and he was looking forward to seeing her do it again. And again. Hopefully there would be a lot of that going on during this trip...

The sound of water clapping as Bulma presumably stepped into the tub had the saiyan swigging down the remainder of his drink. He then kicked his feet off the table, lazily plopping his glass on its surface as he stood. The saiyan prince pulled his boots off before he began his strut towards the bathroom door.

He hadn't stop smirking since they left the Earth's atmosphere, and the promise of seeing what Bulma was up to only made him grin even more…

This was going to be a great way to spend the next several weeks.