Hi there! First of all, I did want to apologize for my sudden disappearance and lack of communication. I knew that I would be busy when school started back up after Winter Break, but I didn't realize just how many things would be going on in my life. It seemed like every time I was able to sit down and type out a chapter I had a setback of some sort - writer's block, family problems, illness, emotional problems, unexpected homework, longer hours at work... I even had to have a surgery done a month ago! It was a common procedure and wasn't extremely invasive, but the recovery was terrible and it meant that I had even more to catch up on once it was done.

I have been re-reading and editing this chapter all day. I feel like the writing isn't exactly my best, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless. I tried to make the chapter long and added a few scenes that I was intending to include in the update after this, so I hope that can make up a little bit for how long it's been. Thank you so much to everyone who left reviews, sent me supportive messages, and checked in on me! My updates may not be as regular as they were over Winter Break, but I hope not to go so long without publishing again.

Once again I am sorry for such a long wait, and I hope you all enjoy! ^^ xoxox

Many days had come to pass, and Tadashi had nearly gotten used to Bulma's absence. Morning after morning, he'd walk into the Capsule Corp building with the small gift he'd bought tucked away in his pocket. He'd wonder, as he made his way to the elevator, if it would finally be the day that he got to give it to her. And each day, as he reported to Dr. Briefs' desk, he would learn that she was still out sick. It'd already been a couple of weeks that she'd been "out sick", and Tadashi couldn't help but to wonder.

Was she alright?

Was she really still sick, or had something else just come up that kept her from making her return?

The last time Tadashi saw her, she'd been in the company of a pretty strange man who had flown out of a tree. They seemed to know each other fairly well, and she seemed completely un-bothered by his actions. In fact, she'd handled the encounter as if she was used to his behavior, and was merely too tired and sick to care. The two seemed seasoned with one another – Bulma had spoken to that black-haired man in a way that indicated disagreements were common between the two, yet she still didn't seem to mind his company.

Their chemistry was hard to read. Was he perhaps a brother or an old family friend? No... First of all, there was no genetic resemblance whatsoever. And the man had obviously been jealous – he acted more like a possessive lover than anything else! And yet Bulma hadn't seemed to show any type of affection towards him. Perhaps they were ex-lovers? Or maybe this man really was a family friend, and happened to have unrequited feelings towards Bulma. Whatever it was, Tadashi somehow found it hard to feel insecure. She hadn't shown any romantic interest in that guy!

Yet still – that muscular beast seemed to have a fiery temper, and the thought of him being alone with Bulma made Tadashi uncomfortable. If he really was an ex-lover – if he REALLY was someone who still had romantic feelings for her, then why did he treat Bulma in that way?

Whatever the case was, there was another striking factor that was throbbing in his mind to distract him from such a thought. Regardless of her history with this black-haired man, her reaction to him was disturbingly casual. She'd hardly flinched a muscle in his direction, and this seemed like a strange response althogether – especially considering the fact that he had flown out of a tree!

Perhaps it was Tadashi's mind playing tricks on him, but there was no other explanation for it. Tadashi knew what he saw, and he saw that spiky haired monstrosity propel straight into the sky by what seemed to be 100 meters! As if that weren't disturbing enough, the man landed on his feet, in a pose, with no broken legs, and was completely unharmed by the fall.

How could this not have affected Bulma? Had she not seen what Tadashi had seen? The blonde intern decided that this had to have been the case – she'd simply been too ailed at the time to notice what exactly this spiky-haired man had done. Yes – that had to be it! It didn't matter how smart and rich in life experience that Bulma seemed to be – there was just no way that she could possibly witness something like that and not be startled!

As the days continued to go by with no sign of Bulma returning to work, Tadashi began to steadily grow more and more worried. She'd seemed quite sick when he dropped her off at her place, but surely she would have gotten better by now? A stomach flu didn't last nearly as long as this, so where on Earth was she?

Did the black-haired man have anything to do with it?

–

It was typical that a Monday morning brought with it groggy risings and dread for the week to come. Tadashi had been running particularly late on this day, having burned his breakfast after oversleeping by an hour. His food rendered inedible, and running late on time, Tadashi hadn't eaten or been able to even mend to his appearance as much as he normally did. He hair was rather unkempt, his outfit unironed, and his shoes still untied. He'd hardly had time to even brush his teeth! But he'd made it to work on time – he managed to beat the clock by just a few minutes, and that was enough to cheer his moods. At least, that was until he heard her voice.

Bulma.

She was back? Finally?!

Her voice was drifting through the hall, and he caught a glimpse of her trademark hair as she disappeared into a room. When his breath caught in his throat he realized it was true, and immediately Tadashi was bolting the opposite direction down the hall and into the nearest bathroom. He looked himself in the mirror and let out a groan. He wasn't one to pay an excessive amount of care into his looks, but he still had standards for himself.

"Of all days, it had to be today?" A small croak formed in his throat as he dampened his fingers under the tap and tried to slick his hair back. In just a few minutes he was going to face Bulma for the first time in nearly a month, and he looked more unkempt and flustered than she'd ever seen him before. The more he examined himself in the mirror, the more insecure he felt. Tadashi was watching as his cheeks grew red before his very eyes.

"Dammit, get it together!" The intern hissed, slamming a fist on the counter. Why was it that she always seemed to have this effect on him? He'd always been a bit of a fidgety guy, but he was still usually more confident in himself! And this - this was ridiculous!

It took a few minutes of deep breathing, giving himself a pep talk, and waiting for his cheeks to return to a normal hue before Tadahi felt as ease enough to re-emerge from the bathroom and make his way to report to Dr. Brief's office. It was when he was just about to turn into his boss' office that the door flew open and out charged a certain Bulma Briefs, her hands balled into fists by her sides as she went. She nearly smashed straight into Tadashi, and the intern jumped back to avoid such an impact.

"Oh!" Bulma screeched, jumping as well. She'd had an angry expression on her face, but it quickly softened as she attempted to compose herself. "Excuse me!"

She was beautiful – she was gorgeous, and she was standing right in front of him. A warm emotion began to drift through Tadashi's veins as the blonde intern fought to keep his cheeks from turning red once again. Had it been so long that he'd forgotten just how attractive she was, or had her time off somehow managed to soften her features? Her figure seemed more slim than he'd remembered, as if her sickness had caused her to lose a considerable amount of weight. Yet she didn't necessarily appear unhealthy – in fact, there was a glow about her that made her look quite a bit refreshed.

"You're feeling better." He managed to say, unable to keep a grin from forming at his lips.

Bulma returned the gesture with a smile of her own, nodding modestly. "Yes. I was doing pretty bad for a while, but everything is fine now. I was just running off to do some paperwork. After I catch up, I think Dad – I mean, Dr. Briefs - wanted us to have a quick meeting with him and discuss the progress you two have made during my absence."

It was with this that Bulma nodded politely and continued her charge down the hall, disappearing around a corner and from Tadashi's line of sight. The intern was almost sad to see her go, but inside he felt relieved by her words. 'Great,' He thought. It seemed that he had more time to compose himself before having to see her again...

The meeting between Bulma, Tadashi, and Dr. Briefs was short and straight to the point. Bulma carried a notepad in her arms, on which she scribbled down notes as her father spoke and explained the status of numerous projects. The intern stood, watching the two interact, feeling a bit out-of-place as he didn't contribute to the conversation at all. In fact, the attention was so removed from Tadashi that he found his mind drifting to places that were inappropriate for the situation. How much longer would it be until the day was over? What was he going to have for dinner that night? What was it that he needed to do once the meeting ended, again?

It was towards the closing of the meeting that Dr. Briefs made a certain comment that snapped Tadashi out of his thoughts. "We're glad to have you back, darling. It seems your time off with Vegeta brought you back in great spirits!"

Vegeta? Was that the name of the spiky haired man he'd encountered? While the intern was interested, taking a mental note to remember this name, Bulma seemed to tense beside him. Something about her air seemed to suddenly change, and Tadashi could definitely sense it. He turned curiously to see a certain glint in her eyes.

What was this?

"I wasn't staying home because of Vegeta," She hissed through gritted teeth, to which Dr. Briefs let out a chuckle. "Oh! Alright, alright. If you say so."

Tadashi watched in shock as Bulma sent a look of warning to her father, her shoulders rising protectively around her head. "This is inappropriate, dad..."

Why was she so defensive about her time off of work? Did this man, Vegeta, really have a reason behind it after all? Could it be that there was something going on behind closed doors that only Bulma and Vegeta knew of? Why was she being so secretive? Tadashi felt his mouth go dry as he watched Bulma, her eyebrows furrowed as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

… Everything was suddenly making sense… Vegeta's temper, his hostility, the way he'd spoken to Bulma, the way she handled it...

'I don't believe it…' He thought, realization suddenly settling in...

"Could you just stop bringing these things up?!" Bulma's shrill voice snapped Tadashi from his thoughts. He blinked back his ponderings and turned to see Dr. Briefs waving a careless hand to his daughter. "Alright, alright. Sorry dear. I'll try to keep things more professional from now on."

"We are going to have a talk later, Doctor Briefs!" Bulma hissed, shooting one last glare in her father's direction before turning away. She walked off, her head held high, her lab coat blowing out behind her.

The intern watched as she went. Whatever the reason was that Bulma had been triggered into such a bad mood at the mention of Vegeta, Tadashi was pretty sure he had an idea. Suddenly so much made sense – how tough and stern she made herself out to be... How reserved she acted, yet in a rare moment she could open up to show just a glimpse of how sweet she truly was. And, above everything else, Tadashi remembered how sad he'd seen her on his first day of work. How she'd looked at him, tensed, and turned to hide her pain. Tadashi blinked slowly as pity and anger welled up inside, realization washing over his body.

'Vegeta!' Tadashi thought bitterly. He knew exactly what was going on between them!

That bastard.

–

Vegeta locked himself away in the ship for a day of training. He didn't particularly like the idea of Bulma leaving the house to return to work once again. It wasn't quite that he had a problem with her returning to work (though he was surprised at how much he lamented her absence), but it was the fact that he knew the feeble little man would be at the office as well. For an entire day Bulma was going to be in close proximity with a beta male who had set his eyes on her. On Vegeta's woman. And that thought made that saiyan's skin curl in a manner that left him unable to decide if he wanted to choke or if he wanted to destroy an innocent building or two. So, instead of doing either, Vegeta had decided to lock himself away in the ship for a strenuous day of training with the Gravity Machine set to the highest capacity that he could manage.

He'd meant to act cool when she came home. He could sense her ki as she descended upon the Briefs residence, landed her car, and made her way into the house. And despite his intentions to act nonchalant, he found himself quickly shutting the Gravity Machine off and hurrying to meet her. When he walked in he found his Bluehead in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. She hardly looked in his direction at all, which only added to the saiyan's bitter emotions.

Of course, she didn't know that her mannerisms bothered him. She didn't know that he'd been anxiously awaiting her return all day, despite his attempts to distract his mind. Bulma didn't know that he'd been reluctant to hear her leave that morning. And she certainly didn't know how uneasy the thought of her spending an entire day with that weak man-child made the saiyan. To say that idea made him twitchy was quite the understatement – the image of Tadashi standing up close to Bulma as the two scanned over blueprints made his skin curl. And now, here she stood after a long day away, and she was practically ignoring him.

"Oh – Hey, Vegeta." Bulma muttered tiredly when she turned and locked eyes with the man before her.

Silence was returned back, the saiyan folding his arms over his chest. Her shot her a glare and mumbled a greeting under his breath.

With a sigh she placed the empty glass into the sink. "What is it?" The Bluehead placed a hand on her hip. "Are you just in a bitchy mood, or did I actually do something wrong?"

This time Bulma received a smirk in response to her words. Vegeta, a knowing leer on his face, shook his head. "The question should be asked by me instead – what did you do today?"

His attitude was something she was used to – though she hadn't encountered it for quite some time. Not since their night of intimacy several weeks before. "You're crazy," She groaned, pushing herself back from the counter she'd been leaning against. "I've had a long day, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for you." As she made her way through the kitchen Vegeta stepped aside to let her pass. He turned and watched as she went, allowing his eyes to rest on her gyrating rear for a few seconds before turning back around. For such a brilliant woman, she could be incredibly dense. At times this amused him, and at other times this frustrated him to no end.

.

Days turned into weeks, and each day that Bulma came home from Capsule Corp she found herself feeling more and more tired. How she went so long working full-time was beyond her – now, as a mother who had enjoyed the luxury of years off for both maternity leave and making preparations for the end of the world, the Bluehead was having the hardest of times re-adjusting to a more routine and "normal" life.

Vegeta, his opinions having gone unspoken, had been growing increasingly more resentful of his woman's time away. Each morning she would casually make herself up and leave, with hardly a word or glance behind her as she went. And each evening she would return, focusing primarily on herself and Trunks before retreating to her bedroom for the night. The Bluehead had made a habit out of acting willfully distant from Vegeta long before her return to work – this wasn't a new behavior. Yet this was becoming unacceptable for him. How dare she continue to treat him so coldly after spending the majority of her days out of the house? If she could give Tadashi so much of her time, she should certainly be able to address Vegeta properly when she came home!

It was vexing, and the saiyan could feel his mood slipping with each passing day. Yet he fought to refrain from acting out on his temper. He'd tried for so long to get into the good graces of his woman again, and the idea of undoing all of his own work was enough to steer him away from confronting her.

That was, until one day when she came home and Vegeta watched as she removed her coat in the entryway. She seemed exceptionally cheerful that afternoon when she'd walked into the house, shooting a wide smile at him and happily saying "hello". It was pleasant - for a bit, but what really crossed the line for Vegeta was that his woman was wearing something he'd never seen before. A jewel-encrested broach was pinned to her blouse, red hues glistening when the light hit it. The saiyan was certain he'd never seen such a thing on his woman before. He was sure she hadn't been wearing it that morning when she'd run out of the house. His stomach turning uneasily, Vegeta made sure to choose his words wisely. "Tell me, woman, what is that on your shirt?"

"Oh," Bulma laughed, placing her coat on a hanger as she spoke. "One of the interns at work gave this to me today. It was pretty sweet – I've never been given a gift by an intern before!" She closed the closet door after hanging her garment, turning to send another smile to the saiyan.

There was no doubt in his mind over which intern it was to give her such an item, and Vegeta could no longer contain himself. Was this why she'd been acting so bubbly this afternoon? Had that beta male's gift really made that much of an effect on her? "What do you think you're doing with that?!" He snapped. Nothing could have prepared him for the intense rage that was suddenly building inside. He walked across the room to stand directly in front of his woman, getting a closer look at the broach on her shirt.

Bulma's eyes widened, her expression dropping. For a moment she looked hurt, but her features quickly soured into a defensive squint. "What - How dare you?! Don't speak to me like that! What - What's with you?!"

"It was that blonde beta, wasn't it?! I've already made it known how I feel about that man, and yet you continue to accept gestures from him!"

It was clear to Bulma that Vegeta felt his behavior was justified. And while his internal pique had been building ever since her first day back at work, it had gone unknown to her. She'd noticed his increasingly tense mood for the last couple of weeks, but this behavior seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere. He was nearly yelling at her! And as shocked as she was, she was also offended by the implications being made. "Really, Vegeta! He's just some kid who's trying to be nice! Stop trying to make it into something that it isn't!"

"I'm only calling things out the way I see them!" The saiyan spat, crossing his arms. She wasn't stupid - a bit air-headed and impulsive at times, sure - but she certainly was not stupid. There were no doubts about how high her intelligence was in comparison to the other Earth inhabitants, or other living creatures in general for that matter. So why was she so quick to turn a blind eye in this situation? Could she really be as naïve as she was portraying!? "You're going to return that item to the beta male first thing tomorrow morning before he has the chance to get any improper ideas, understand?!"

"But – I already told you that I've never received something like this from an intern before... This meant a lot to me..." Her voice trembling, Bulma was feeling oddly emotional. She was mad, but there was a strange pain building inside by being spoken to in this way by him. It'd been so long since he'd addressed her in this way, and she wasn't feeling well about it. And as she felt hostile tears threatening to well in her eyes, she wondered why she even cared so much. There was an era when this had been the only way he seemed to speak to her, but it'd been such a long time since those days. She thought things had changed in a good way between the two. In fact, she'd grown comfortable with the new chemistry they'd been developing.

But, as Vegeta maintained his stern glare despite Bulma's latest attempt to calm him mood, her spirit fell even more. That broach had meant a lot to her – as a woman who had always been a bit of an abstract thinker, unable to relate well to the average person and outcast because of her family's status, this had been touching. Even the other interns at work steered clear of her path when she made her way down the hallways, whispering nervously when they thought she couldn't hear, and quick to end conversations when she entered the room. There was always a tense air of separation between Bulma and other individuals she encountered – as soon as someone learned her family name they would suddenly act too polite, too proper, too unnatural. While there was a pride that could be taken in having this type of power simply because of her last name, Bulma sometime wished that socialization came more easily. And yet Tadashi was different. While he was an awkward guy who choked on his own tongue quite often, the gift he'd presented her with was symbolic. It meant a lot that someone had thought to do such a thing for her. A work colleague was finally unafraid of her. It was unrequested, unexpected, and it meant that Tadashi didn't seemed to think of as someone that he should fear. Aside from her parents, the only other people to ever treat her this way had been her Z-Fighter friends and Vegeta... Tadashi was one of the first normal humans to interact with her like this after learning of her family background… And Vegeta just didn't get it. He didn't care, even after she explained that the gift had meant so much to her.

Perhaps it was foolish of her to trust that Vegeta had grown as a man, after all... Perhaps things hadn't changed... Perhaps Vegeta was always going to be the same hot-headed jerk, who only thought of himself and didn't really have empathy for those around him... With this thought Bulma was growing more upset. There was a hurt that still welled within, but a bitter moundof anger was now churning in her stomach as well. She was not only hurt by his behavior, but she felt deceived... perhaps even betrayed. "You have no right to ever try and tell me what to do, so get over it!" Was it Vegeta who had betrayed her, or had it been her own mind for allowing her to believe that things were getting better between them?

"You are the woman with whom I have chosen to mate, so I do have a right!" Vegeta shot back.

"No you don't! We aren't a couple - we aren't even together! And even if we were, you still wouldn't have any say in my actions! I make my own damned decisions!" Bulma was breathing heavily as her voice rose. "Get used to it!"

Damn it all, the saiyan bit the inside of his cheek. It didn't matter how long it'd been since he'd broken free from the clutches of Frieza, Vegeta never seemed to shake the impulse instilled within that told him to punish anyone who spoke to him in such a way. He was a saiyan prince, after all. Anyone who disrespected this status was entitled to the worst methods of torture! Yet Bulma was different - she wasn't ever going to be subjected to any type of ramification. Time and time again, when she yelled at him in such a way, his pride urged him to retaliate. Yet he wouldn't. He wasn't going to, not when it came to her. It was a trial to his patience and his ego, but she was an exception that would never face any time of repercussion for her tone.

"Look." He said, taking in a deep breath. "I have told you before that if you don't want me around that is fine, but I have a duty to protect you until the boy is grown and capable of it himself."

"I don't need any protection!" The Bluehead balled her hands into fists. "I'm Bulma fucking Briefs, and I can take care of myself!"

"Just return that jewel tomorrow, alright." Vegeta had managed to calm himself down a bit, but her defensiveness frustrated him still. Why did she care so much about keeping the item that the beta male had given her?

"I'll remind you, Vegeta, that you will never have any say on who I interact with, who I receive gifts from, and what I choose to wear on my body." The Bluehead held her hands tightly to her hips as she spoke, leaning closer to him for emphasis. "If you tell me to do something, I'm going do the opposite just to prove that I can. You have no power over me. Perhaps if you could learn to stop thinking of yourself every minute of the day, you'd realize that!"

"Stupid woman! I've already expressed my vow to keep you safe! Doesn't that mean I'm not thinking of myself!?" A vein was beginning to pulse in Vegeta's forehead now, and he stepped away to add distance between the two. He needed to do something else – he needed to blow off steam and calm his mood before he really said something he'd regret.

Seeing his reaction made Bulma feel smug now. He'd hurt her deeply, and she was glad that she was winning this fight in return. "Your words mean nothing, and I've told you that already." She hissed. "I'm keeping this broach, and you can get over it, or you can leave."

"Do what you want then, see if I care!" Vegeta scoffed and stepped aside. "I've warned you that the beta male has improper intentions. I hope you remember my words when you learn this the hard way."

"I won't be learning anything like that, because he's just a kid, Vegeta!" Bulma tossed her hair back and marched off. She'd only been home for ten minutes, and she was already fuming. She was tired, she was hungry, and she wanted to find her baby and say hello. She'd left Vegeta standing in the entryway as she stormed off, disappointed tears threatening her eyes from how harsh he'd been...