Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to the Dragon Ball universes that privilege rests with Akira Toriyama.

AN: Yay! a new follower!

The song that was playing when I thought up the scene by the pool was "Waiting for my Ruca" by Sublime on their 40 oz to Freedom album. It was not easy being single while pregnant and Bulma needs to know Vegeta still wants her. It's not fair he can smell her arousal and has used that to his advantage in the past. Also, I enjoy making him embarrass himself, the man is so tightly wound he needs it to get through all that armor he wears.

Over the next five days, Bulma did everything she could to avoid Vegeta, luckily he did the same. However, his new level of involvement with Trunks was making it difficult. The Prince was basically teaching her sign language to better understand Trunks' needs, but he would only do so at the dining table. After the evening meals, her parents would take trunks to play and she and Vegeta would sit and work on more of the basic words. On the third night Vegeta rose from the table when she leaned over it in a low cut top and stated that this was no longer necessary, the child would be speaking soon, and left the house. Bulma was beginning to wonder if he still wanted her, she wished she had his sense of smell.

When Thursday finally rolled around and at dinner, Bulma announced as a reminder that Candi would be around the compound tomorrow. Panchy was ecstatic that her daughter was going to get some much-needed girl time.

"That's wonderful," Panchy clapped, making Trunks giggle, "and with Vegeta around we can all look after Trunks while you have your weekend with your girlfriends."

Vegeta scowled, "You are spending another weekend out and away from the boy?" He didn't want to admit that he was disappointed that she would probably be forgoing the question game she had been so adamant about wanting to play with him.

"It is only going to be two nights," Bulma didn't like his tone, he could spend time with their son she had spent all day, every day of three months caring for the child. "It's not going to kill you to do a little more with him, besides it's not like you ever have any plans outside of training."

Vegeta huffed at her and rose from the table. Her bitter tone dredged up the remembered sting of her words from the previous week. He needed some time to himself. The prince did think he had been spending a large amount of time with the child. He had him from breakfast until lunch every day, and from the time he awoke from his naps until dinner each afternoon. Bulma was the one that was now neglecting the child, she was gone at work from 8:30 until dinner was served most days.

"Bulma, that's not very nice. You know Vegeta takes his training very seriously," Dr. Briefs said. "Besides he hasn't been getting any time to himself during the day as he has had Trunks with him all week. Even when the boy is napping Vegeta is playing pack mule for me in my lab. I also sent him to Capsule Corp. twice this week to help with the construction of the new lab for your expanding space program."

"Dad, Vegeta has been back for two weeks, barely, and only for the past week has he really been engaging with Trunks. I gave up three of the hardest months to change every diaper, midnight feedings and had to deal with a colicky infant. The least Vegeta could do is not shame me for being insanely busy one week then taking one night a week for myself." Bulma finished her tirade with a pointed stare at her father, men really didn't understand how had it was to be a mother. As a woman she wasn't allowed to miss-step, to make any mistakes, she had to be twice as good as all the men around her in order to show she was capable of her position. Her father's words showed exactly why there were a few members on the board of directors that thought she wasn't qualified.

"I was simply commenting on your tone and choice of wording, Bulma," her father clarified. "I didn't mean that Vegeta can step up more or that he was right in his choice of wording, but he is much newer to all this than you, and a little kindness to him could go a long way in patching up your relationship." Dr. Briefs got up from the table and left for his study, not wanting to deal with his daughter's indignant attitude.

"Don't you have something to add too?" Bulma asked her mother who was just sitting there finishing her meal and serving trunks his third helping.

"No, dear," Panchy didn't even look at her. "But I will point out that Vegeta didn't finish his second helping of dinner."

Bulma looked at the still half-full plate of food and felt her appetite vanish. She had been overly defensive towards her father because she was upset Vegeta had been avoiding her. She also felt guilty for snapping at him and knew that her father's point had been valid.

Pushing back from the table Bulma went out the back door to find Vegeta. She would have to postpone their get together she had planned for tomorrow as she was certain the girls would want to drag her over to Lizz's house for dinner and some wine where they would all catch up before they partied. She found him in the gravity chamber, doors locked, eight-hundred times gravity enabled.

"Vegeta, please let me in," she said into the intercom. "We need to talk."

"Go away," he growled, "I am in no mood for your bitter attitude and resentful words."

"Vegeta-"

"I said leave me the fuck alone!" he barked, cutting off her begging.

"Fine you selfish prick, I was going to apologize to you but I'm glad I didn't you fucking ass!" she screamed back into the speaker box before storming back to the house. "Ungrateful bastard, I don't even know why the hell I bother," she muttered as she made her way through the didn't want to admit that she felt guilty for taking out her frustrations on him or how accurate his words were.

Vegeta was stunned by her words. The blue-haired genius was going to apologize to him? Guilty burned in his gut for he knew he still owed her an apology, and now he owed her another. Would his dept to her ever end?

The next day Candi was at the Briefs house for breakfast. She arrived late last night and went straight to her hotel room with the co-pilot from her flight. Waking up early she called the house line at the Briefs residence and rushed over after Panchy answered. Candi wanted some time with Bulma's mother before anyone else woke up.

At the table in the kitchen, the two women chatted over a cup of coffee for Panchy and tea for Candi.

"I'm so glad you girls are still getting together most years," Panchy said. "Bulma needs to unwind, her and Vegeta have been fighting a lot lately."

"So mystery man is still here?" Candi asked looking up wondering if she would get to meet this guy today.

"Of course this is his home after all," Panchy said cheerily. "He is in love with my daughter and his son is here, I couldn't imagine him being anywhere else."

"How does Bulma feel about having him here?" Candi asked.

"I think she is happy about it, but she has a bit of resentment towards him for being gone during her pregnancy," Panchy added.

"What makes you say he loves her?"

"Well the way he looks at her, and the other night he even made her give him the baby monitor so she could sleep in. it was the sweetest thing," Panchy placed her hands over her heart. "He came down with Trunks in the morning and I thought he had slept with Bulma But Vegeta had him with him."

"Has he been here since he got back from wherever he went?" Candi continued her questioning.

"Well, no actually," Panchy said thoughtfully. "I don't really know where he was last month," she was unaware of his stay on Dende's lookout with the rest of the Z Fighters.

"And how long was he gone?"

"Just over a year. Why?" Panchy asked, wondering where this line of questions was heading.

Candi looked down at her half-drunk cup of tea, "Just wondering if he doesn't have some other family somewhere. After Yamcha, I don't want to see Bulma get hurt by another cheater. Bad boys are always the worst."

"Oh, no dear, Vegeta was in space when he was gone," Panchy said, quick to defend the grouchy prince. "His family is dead, his homeland destroyed. He had gone to space because he and Bulma had a fight and he needed to test her new engines for her. But he crashed and got stranded," Panchy paused hoping she hadn't said too much. "I'm sure he would've been back in time for Trunks' birth if he hadn't."

"Huh," Candi said, she hadn't known Vegeta was the Briefs test pilot. It explained why he had been with them since Bulma returned from her own little space journey. Now she wondered if maybe Bulma had been in space with this Vegeta, and that was why Yamcha had been so jealous towards the end of his and Bulma's relationship. Did her friend cheat on the Baseball player while she was in space?

"My turn to ask you questions now," Panchy said with a sly smile.

"Okay, mom," Candi said in mock annoyance. "So long as you don't ask when I'm having kids, that answer is still the same."

"Oh fooey, you are no fun."

"Correction, I'm always going to be the one having fun," Candi teased with a cheeky smile. "No kids means I get to keep all my boytoys."

When Bulma and Trunks came down she was sitting at the table with Panchy. Their heads together like a couple of conspirators. Candi got up and took Trunks from her with a wink.

"If it isn't my favorite nephew!" she said ruffling the boy's hair as she sat back down with him on her knee.

"You would make a great mom," Panchy stated.

Rolling her eyes she looked at Bulma, "why would I need to have kids when my friends are having them for me? I can just enjoy all the best parts of children without having to deal with diapers and teething."

"I see mom is still pestering you about making babies," Bulma said as she served herself some coffee. Returning to the table she kissed Candi on the cheek, "It's good to see you finally, did you have fun with your pilot?"

"Why yes I did, and I hear that your pilot is still crazy about you."

Bulma blanched at the mention of Vegeta being her test pilot. Looking at her mother she frowned, she was treading on thin ice telling people about what Vegeta was and did around Capsule Corp. the government was monitoring them. While she knew they couldn't record the goings-on inside the house they watched them like hawks and would continue to do so, until they knew Vegeta was no longer a threat to the Earth. Trying to cover her paranoia she decided to shift attention to her mother.

"Mom," she said in a scolding tone. "Please tell me you didn't tell Candi about how you thought Vegeta and I slept together."

"Well I did but I didn't mention the tension between you too or how you choked on your toast and turned all red at the thought of it."

"Oh, my, gawd mom," Bulma laughed and the other women joined her.

"Well, hellooo," Candi said as she looked past Bulma across from her.

Bulma spun around to see Vegeta standing in the doorway. She caught his look of surprise just before it fell into a scowl and he uncrossed his arms to walk past all the women. Candi could see why Bulma let this man hang around, he was quite the specimen, even if he was a bit on the shorter side. Although his lack of manners was leaving a lot to be desired.

Vegeta had heard the thing Panchy had said and it made him feel even worse than he had the night before. By now he knew Bulma still wanted him but he had just kept driving the wedge deeper alongside her. Pouring his black coffee into a mug he headed out the back door, "I'll take my breakfast in the ship. Good day."

"Ha, rude," Candi said after the door closed behind him. "What does he think, he's the Prince of England? Does he always order you around like that Panchy?"

"Oh but he-Ow!" Panchy didn't get to finish as Bulma kicked her under the table.

"Mom," Bulma warned, "you don't have to make excuses for Vegeta's rude attitude," she added to cover her warning from Candi's notice. "He's probably still pissed at me for last night."

"What happened last night?" Candi asked.

"I said a bit too much, a bit too bitchy, and he barked at me so I yelled at him. Sometimes, he is such a baby," Bulma said and rolled her eyes at how childish the man could act, and all three women laughed again.

After Bulma left for work Panchy piled Vegeta's breakfast into the biggest tupperware container she had available.

"Panchy are you feeding an army with all that food?" Candi asked from her spot at the table next to Dr. Briefs. She had been sitting with her mentor discussing one of his newest serums he'd been working on.

"Oh no," Panchy said. "It's just Vegeta's breakfast."

"Why don't you let me take that to him?" Candi offered, rising from her seat. "Then you can sit and eat your own breakfast with your handsome husband."

"Oh ho ho," Dr. Briefs laughed. "Ever the flatterer, Candi."

Candi smiled and took the container from Panchy. She was determined to talk to this Vegeta. She made her way to the spaceship in the backyard, she knew that was what everyone meant when they referenced the 'ship' what else could they mean?

She was surprised to find the door open and the room empty. Walking into the interior she let her curiosity bubble over and marveled at her best friend's handy work. Bulma really was a mechanical genius. Approaching the control panel Candi leaned over the gravity controls, she didn't recognize them from any schematics she'd ever seen, but the markings that read one through eight hundred G-forces made her even more curious. Candi reached out for the dial.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Vegeta barked from where he was in the center of the room.

Bulma came back to the house around one pm to pick up Candi so they could meet Danna at the train station. The three women went out for a late lunch and some shopping for dinner at Lizz's home. Which was lovely as Lizz had always been an amazing cook. After dinner and the children were put to bed, Gill, Lizz's husband barricaded himself in his study and the four women sat in the living room with their wine and caught up.

"Danna have you met a man yet?" Lizz asked, prying into her friend's life.

"Yeah?" Candi agreed. "But an unmarried one," she added.

"You are one to talk, Candi," Danna said flushing at her embarrassment. "Are any of yours married?"

"I wouldn't know, none of them are serious enough for me to care to find out," Candi said dismissively. "Besides we were talking about you, miss I can't wait to get married and start a family."

Danna Flushed again, "Well...I, I was with this one guy for a few months." All three of her friends responded at once.

"Really!"

"That's great!"

"Yay!"

"Yeah, but he wasn't really ready to leave his wife for good," she admitted and again her friends responded in unison.

"Oh, come on!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"What!"

Danna cringed, "They were separated," she offered.

"That doesn't count, he was still married," Lizz said. "You've gotta stop doing this to yourself. Take some time for you and reset so you can find a guy like Gill. then you can start a family."

"Lizz, your kids are so great, they are such little sweeties," Danna said. "I'm disappointed I didn't get to meet Trunks tho," she sent a sideways glance at Bulma.

All attention shifted to Bulma at that point. Locking eyes with Candi she received a raised eyebrow with a look that said 'you're on your own girl.'

"Haha, yeah," Bulma started awkwardly. "Well, you see, Trunks is with his dad tonight."

"What!" Lizz shouted.

"Yeah, he's with Trunks," Candi added, "at her house, where he is living again."

"Wait," Danna said, "he is living with you? Didn't he take off when you were pregnant!? Why would you ever let him back into your house?"

"Well," Bulma glared at Candi for outing her situation when she didn't fully understand it. "He didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh, no," Lizz and Danna said together.

"Bulma please don't tell me he's another deadbeat like Yamcha," Lizz implored.

"No," Bulma said quickly, "He...he...um… he's the test pilot for my spaceship and battle tech. That's how he started living with us, to begin with. Our relationship came later."

"At least he is finally helping with his son," Candi said with a coy smile after catching the look shared between Lizz and Danna that clearly showed their wariness for Bulma's situation.

The next day Vegeta had what he was beginning to consider his normal morning with Trunks. He was present when the child woke in his crib and they ate breakfast together, the only thing missing was Bulma, she was sleeping still and had gotten in late. After the day before where he had concentrated on avoiding everyone, today he spent the entire morning with his son in the gravity chamber, so both of them could avoid all the women that were showing up later that morning.

He'd trained all morning, the boy observing him. Trunks was so close to walking, Vegeta could hardly wait to introduce kata's to Trunks and begin his training in earnest. Kata was an excellent place to start and it would assist the child in developing his balance on two feet. When trunks motioned that he needed food they exited the gravity chamber on the ship, the boy riding on his father's shoulder.

The four women were in the backyard. They were all drinking and lounging by the pool, gossiping about men and children, or so Vegeta assumed. After his encounter with the one called Candi, Vegeta decided to avoid all of Bulma's friends from grad school like his life depended on it. Especially because Bulma's scent had been driving him crazy all week and he didn't want everyone to know how he felt until the Woman knew for herself. His hope had been returning with how not once did that other male's scent cling to the blue-haired genius when she returned from her work. She came home early or on time, which looking back on that fact it hadn't been right of him to shame her for taking a few nights off. Flying over the house Vegeta took Trunks in through the front door to avoid the women.

In the kitchen, Vegeta rummaged through the fridge for a snack for the boy and a small meal for himself. Movement out the glass doors caught his eye. Bulma and three other women were out there moving to the music he could only just make out. What had captured his attention was the swaying hips and sexual nature to the rhythm Bulma was moving. The strings of her lime green bikini peeked out on the right side from under the sheer black wrap tied around those heavenly hips. Seeing her in that bikini was torture and took him back to the time they had played in the pool and his fingers had made quick work in removing that tiny garment. Vegeta was suddenly in the doorway to the back yard, watching her. The way she moved could only be described as a siren's song, it pulled at him in every way.

Like a man in a trance, Vegeta was drawn forward by the spell of her hips swinging with the offbeat of the primordially drums that deafened him to any other stimuli than the blue-haired goddess before him. The closer he got to those hypnotically swaying hips the blinder the prince grew to everything around him, and he couldn't control himself any longer. The swinging, rotating, gyrating movements drove him insane, the prince wanted nothing more than to pull that ass against his pelvis and move with her in the rhythm she set in this sensual dance that replicated the way she moved during mating. He pressed forward with agonizing lethargy barely breathing worried he might disturb the magic of her tantric movements and break whatever spell he was under.

Bulma needed this, she hadn't seen her girls all together since the summer after Namek when they revisited the Mediterranean. It had been fun to travel for the sake of travel, not fighting to save the planet from certain doom. She loved these women, her graduate school sisters, the girls were going to paint the town red. Starting with poolside brunch and mimosas at the compound.

Dancing had always been her favorite thing outside of engineering, and she simply couldn't resist when the heavy ska beat started playing. Grabbing her friend Candi's hand she pulled the tiny woman you to her feet and started dancing to the rhythm. Candi was barely five feet tall, with a thick curvy build.

Danna and Lizz were lounging away from Bulma and Candi as they danced to a song that brought back memories of spring break their senior year in graduate school. Their reminiscing about their time in college was interrupted when the half-naked Saiyan emerged from the house and stalked their friend. Both women admired his physique until recognition registered and they looked worriedly between him and Bulma, to each other, and back between the couple again.

Lizz asked, "Isn't that Trunks' dad, Bulma's ex? What was his name?"

"You're right that is! I recognize him from that picture in Trunks' room. What is he doing here? It thought he had taken Trunks for the day," Danna pondered, continuing to admire the man's hard and muscular body, her mouth-watering as he approached.

"From the look of it, wishing he wasn't her ex," Lizz answered, noticing the look on Vegeta's face as he advanced on her friend. It warmed her heart to see him watching Bulma with such unabashed longing and reverence like he was ready to fall on his knees and worship the mother of his child. Most men merely lusted after women like Bulma, for her body and her wealth. But the way he watched her, transfixed by her very being, it reminded Lizz of her husband and the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

"Damnit," Danna said under her breath. It just wasn't fair she was just as pretty as her friends, a bit taller and with a slimmer build but unlike the others born into wealth, she had started from nothing. None of that matters though because she was still single, her friends replacing what little family she still had living, but no family to build for herself. What she wouldn't give to have a man like Vegeta, a man that very clearly loved her and respected her. "If Bulma doesn't want him I would gladly take him off her hands," Danna admitted.

Lizz, catching the longing and envy in her friend's voice quickly tried to dissuade Danna from her thoughts of trying to move on Vegeta. "Danna, you'll meet the perfect guy someday. Besides, he clearly still loves Bulma, don't you want that for yourself? Without breaking up the band? Please don't do anything stupid."

"What are you talking about? I would never-" Danna stopped talking when she glanced at Lizz.

"I know you D, how many married men have you slept with? That's not something you should make a habit, none of them will ever take you seriously, not like you deserve."

Both women looked back to where Vegeta was moving in slow motion as he came up behind Bulma. Neither were prepared for what happened next.

The world truly had fallen away, the only thing that existed was Bulma. She was the goddess that had given him a new life, a second chance to have everything he ever could've wanted and even things he didn't know he could have. The gap between them was mere inches physically but the mental one felt like a light-year or more. He hesitated behind the only woman he would ever want while he contemplated if what he wanted to do would help to close the distance he felt between them.

Deciding that feeling her soft skin under his hands, her perfect curves pressed against his frame, and smelling her sweet intoxicating scent even if it was for a fleeting moment was worth a trillion times more than never getting to again. Vegeta's hand twitched and in one quick move, the prince placed one hand low on Bulma's hip, the other wrapped her waist splaying over her stomach above her navel. Pulling her back flush against his front, he moved with her, continuing her rhythmic motions without missing a beat when she stilled, allowing him to lead. When she swayed into him and moved with him he growled a low seductive sound that vibrated through his chest and into her.

Her eyes had grown wide with her surprise at the hands on her, pulling her backward. Until she felt the rock hard body at her back and recognized it immediately, melting into him with her relief. Her Saiyan was just as hard and warm as ever, his naked flesh against her skin felt like fire. His gentle caresses on her hip sent shivers through her entire body and his heady musky scent filled her senses. It would be a lie if she said she hadn't missed him in every way. Forgetting herself for a moment she swayed into him for two of the long off-beats. When he growled that feral and vibrating sound she remembered that she was not supposed to be pressed against this man, but before she could pull away a small voice sounded across the yard.

"Da-daa!"

Notes: This Chapter will put me over 40k words so far. Also, for anyone who is curious...the first lemon is written, but its chapters away yet. I have to make Bulma and Vegeta suffer a bit more.