I put so much work into Chapter 32, and I really loved reading everyone's feedback! Thank you so much for your continuing support! I love you all!

"Just a… little… more!"

The Gravity Machine was set to 525, and the room was humid with both sweat and heat. The Saiyan Prince pressed himself through another one-armed pushup, forehead wrinkling in concentration. There was no telling exactly how long he'd been working out for, and he didn't really care to keep track. As far as he was concerned, his routine would not be over until he lacked the capability to even pick his head up from the floor.

It was all Vegeta could do to clear his racing brain.

How could he have been so thoughtless?

He'd had more than enough slips of his tongue that night. The things he'd said to her, the things he'd done in front of those cameras…

That was it. Pushups just wouldn't do anymore! Vegeta let out a growl and rolled onto his back, gritting his teeth as he began on his ninety-eighth set of sit-ups that day. His abs were trembling under the added pressure of the gravity, but he ignored this and continued despite the aches.

He didn't have a chest wound this time. He was deliberately trying to keep from utilizing his battle bots to prevent another round of Bulma's distress so soon. Yet he's compensated enough that his body was strained and his breaths were coming out in chokes nevertheless.

It just wasn't enough, though. Regardless of how hard he pushed himself. Those horrifying thoughts continued to invade his mind, no matter what he did…

.

Bulma was growing worried.

This was the third consecutive morning that she'd woken up to an empty bed since her and Vegeta's date night. Each time she opened her eyes to turn and see that he wasn't laying next to her, the pit in her stomach grew.

And it wasn't just the lonely morning that had her unnerved.

It was the silent days.

It was the quiet nights that she spent solely with Trunks, waiting to see if Vegeta would pay her a visit before she fell asleep.

And he hadn't.

Bulma certainly wasn't stupid. She'd noticed it the week earlier – Vegeta had been taking his training to excessive limits ever since the news about them had broken out. But at least he had initially been returning from the gravity room at some point. At least they'd share meals together, and have conversations. At least he had even gone as far as to take it easy last Sunday so they could go out together!

These last three days, though, had gotten much worse. He was training before she woke, and quite obviously working himself until after she went to bed. He would not show his face to her, not even to demand food.

For the last three days, Bulma hadn't even seen Vegeta.

It was enough to piss her off. How dare he not even speak to her for three days – especially after the way he'd spoken to her during their date night! How could he treat her like that, and then completely disappear?!

Despite this frustration, there was an overwhelming sense of dread that manifested inside her core. Enough that it overpowered her anger. Enough that she found herself in a constantly anxious state.

She'd encountered this type of behavior from him before.

He'd been much more open and verbally affectionate towards her in his intoxication than he typically allowed himself to be. He'd even kissed her in front of the paparazzi – just to fuck with them! Was his current isolation a result of how he'd acted? Surely it was all too heavy to remember when he'd woken up sober the morning after. Hell, Bulma would be lying if she said that she'd never done something while drunk that she'd grown to regret! She had enough history with Vegeta to know how he handled stress. She had only recently started to move past the trauma from how much he'd pushed her away throughout the majority of Trunks' infancy, hadn't she? The shadow of deja' vu that had been steadily sinking in for the last week was now starting to get to her.

What bothered her the most was the fact that this was all happening now. After he'd spoken those words. After he'd told her that he…

…He… told her that he…

Bulma shook.

She couldn't even stand to remember those three words he'd whispered in her ear the last time they'd made love. How he'd held her close and let it out with a gasp. The sincerity in his voice. The emotion that she'd been completely surprised to hear come out of him… How truly elated she'd been, thinking that hearing those words was the best way to bask in the afterglow of his body.

And now…

It hit her with a sting.

She just couldn't think about him being so tender during a moment like this. It was too much to take...

.

Vegeta let out a sharp hiss. It was partially in reaction to the muscle cramp that was pulsating through his bicep, and partially with irritation from the annoying alarm blaring through the Gravity Room. This was the first time he was hearing a call being received through that damned intercom system that had been installed when the house was built. A nasally high-pitched tone, Vegeta made a note that he was going to have to demand Dr. Briefs to adjust this.

The Saiyan switched off the gravity machine with a curse, instantly feeling as the pressure gave way and his body suddenly felt lighter. He made his way across the room and pressed a green button to accept the call and put an end to that damned ringing sound for one and for all. The large screen in front of him lit up, and suddenly appeared Bulma's face. "I wanted to speak to you," She said at once, "But I don't want to walk in there and have my spine crushed in order to do it."

Vegeta's expression remained neutral as she spoke. It really was uncomfortable to be looking her in the eyes so soon after what had happened between them.

The fact that he hadn't responded at all was disappointing to the Bluehead. He didn't even greet her with a nod. Bulma was pinching her earlobe now, a nervous habit that had manifested since her hair was now too short for her to twirl around her finger. "I wanted to ask you if you were planning on spending the entire day in there again."

"That is to be seen." He wasn't ready to talk to her. And he really did hate to be interrupted right in the middle of a strenuous workout. She knew this.

Bulma brought her hand down from her ear, and shot a glare directly in through the screen. It was enough to make Vegeta step back slightly, her pupils enlarged and exaggerated by the giant monitor. It's been quite a few days since he'd seen her eyes at all, let along to have them penetrating him in this way.

"Vegeta." She said. Her tone was stern, but there wasn't nearly as much anger as he had expected. "Listen to me. You're going to drive yourself crazy." Reminiscent of the night she'd cleaned his chest wound. It wasn't the first time she had told him this.

Suddenly Vegeta was feeling defensive. His house was surrounded by pesky little men that were obsessively taking pictures, desperate to catch a glimpse of anything they did. She'd promised him that their night out would make those bugs scatter, but so far they still hadn't ceased their prying. That night had been one embarrassing slip-up after another, and for what? Nothing had changed at all with those creatures! He was sure that the entire human race had seen the images of him indulging in her lips, and nothing good had come of it! And, on top of it all, he was still fuming with anger that hadn't been settled with that squirrely beta male. He was being held prisoner with his own rage, in his own house! And now she was going to give him grief because he just wanted alone time in order to cope with everything?

"Woman." He grunted. "If I want to work so I can clear my thoughts, then I will. Understand?"

Bulma felt her heart dropping as he spoke. His demeanor in that moment was beginning to remind her of that cold and focused man who had once completely distanced himself from her because he'd been so fixated on training for the Androids. She didn't want that! "But you can clear your thoughts with us, Vegeta. We can do this together…"

Just when she was starting to relax around him… Just when she'd been starting to trust him once again… To believe that he really would stand by her and not abandon her again. Just when she was starting to forget about that pain - this side was coming out? Was he really going to fall back into that now? After everything they'd recently been through together? His instinct was still to simply shut her out?

As Bulma watched, Vegeta dropped his face. He seemed to be studying the controls of the intercom. "I told you I wanted to kill him."

There was so much tension in his voice – so much hatred and resentment that dripped from his words when he said this. She would have been an idiot to not have known the thoughts he'd been harboring inside towards Tadashi. But she couldn't bear to hear him speak like this – not when he seemed to be directing the blame at her. The ache of disappointment that was quivering inside was starting to make her feel light headed. She really had hoped he would have changed… "You did tell me that." She nodded with a gulp. "But you can't just kill people you don't like! And I was just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt... He was just a kid."

Vision was growing blurry now.

"I told you that he wasn't to be trusted, and you always fought me on that point." Vegeta continued. "And right now I want to train!"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks now, but part of that was due to the anger welling up inside. She had no intentions of simply accepting his actions. She wouldn't put up with him falling back into this again. How could he be doing that after she thought they'd become more connected to each other than ever?! "If that's how you feel, then fine!" She snapped back. "There's other ways to handle this, you know! You could come inside and we could figure everything out! Together! But of course not, you don't want to talk to me. You don't want anything to do with me or Trunks! You just want to train by yourself, and so be it! Have fun! See if I care!"

And with that, just as Vegeta was about to yell something back, the call abruptly ended. He had been taking in a deep breath, his hands balled into fists, and when the screen went out he let out a frustrated yell. The Saiyan Prince turned and shot a blast at the nearby wall, shouting a curse as he did so. Now she was mad with him! And he was more pissed than ever! How dare she talk to him like such a child? As if his training negated everything he'd been trying to do for her?! Everything they'd done! He had built a damned house and allowed her to boycott the interior, for Kame's sake!

Her rant was digging at him from the inside as the words sank in. They reminded him of when they'd gotten into a fight while he'd been training in space. The words were all so eerily similar to the things she'd told him shortly before he'd found capability to transition into Super…

…The things she'd said to him the first time he'd realized that he'd lost her…

"Damnit!" Vegeta was going to have to compose himself before following up after that.

.

Bulma was balancing Trunks on a hip as she paced about the living room. Her thoughts were hysterical, and the rational part of her brain was fighting to decide how to feel. She was torn – torn between empathy and hurt. She understood his frustrations. How must it feel to have the entire media painting you as some monster? She felt terrible that this was happening, she really did!

But she couldn't be supportive of him coping in this way. He was pulling back from her, whether he even recognized this himself or not, and it wasn't right. It was what she'd feared the most when she'd resisted making up with him for so long. That overwhelming sense of abandonment that came with his silent hostility. She didn't need to go through it again… She was in a full-blown state of panic at this point.

Trunks was playfully slapping her in the face now to get her attention. "I want go! I want goooo-oo!" He chanted, giving her cheek a tight squeeze.

"Hey! That hurts!" Bulma replied, snapping out of her thoughts and turning on her son. "What is it? What?!"

"I. Want. Go." Trunks seemed exasperated now. He'd been working to improve his verbal communication ever since his father had pointed out that he needed to talk more, and still it seemed that it was easier to get what he wanted by using his hands! His mother hadn't even been listening to him until he'd slapped her!

"Okay, okay…" The Bluehead grabbed his little wrist to keep him from popping her in the face again. "Where do you want to go, Trunks?"

The boy threw his head back and dramatically pointed towards the front door. He couldn't remember what that word was!

"You wanna go outside?" She offered.

"Out." He agreed with a nod. Yes, that was the word he'd been looking for! Out! "I want!"

The Bluehead sighed. Not only did she feel for Vegeta in this situation, but she also felt bad for Trunks. He'd been confined in this house for the better part of a week, aside from their trip to the restaurant. He was a baby – he needed to be getting fresh air and sun. He needed to be tiring himself out at a park, not hitting her because he was bored!

Now that she was thinking about it, what bothered her even more was that the idea of leaving the house at all unnerved her. She didn't want to go outside, to weave her way through the paparazzi, and play with Trunks while hundreds of men took her picture.

Especially not when she was alone.

Not without Vegeta…

Bulma hated to admit it, but she felt completely vulnerable going out without him. To her chagrin, she was pretty sure that she'd shy away from taking Trunks to the park even if there weren't ravenous paparazzi waiting to catch her every move. She just didn't feel safe. She didn't want to put her son in potential danger…

Was she becoming a recluse herself in the wake of her attack?

"We need to go out." She announced, grasping the boy more tightly. She couldn't let it happen. Trunks deserved better than what he was currently receiving. She had to do it for him. She needed to get him away from the house. He needed to spend his childhood playing, as a normal kid. He didn't need to grow up in hiding. Trunks was going to play, and in the meantime she was going to have to think of a plan to steer the paparazzi away. For once and for all.

Twenty minutes later, and the two had already taken off in their bright yellow helicopter. By doing this she was evading the cameramen, who hadn't been expecting her to fly away. She had no intentions of taking Trunks to the nearby park at a time like this, to stand completely exposed to any potential pictures or attacks. The thought made her shudder!

No, they weren't going to the park. But she did know of a place they could go to get away for awhile.

A place where the paparazzi wouldn't know how to find her.

A place where she wouldn't feel physically unsafe...

I know, I know! This chapter ended quite suddenly. This is a bit short for my standards. Usually I try to write a lot more than this! Usually I try to spoil you guys!

In all seriousness though, this really felt like a great place to end. I've already started typing the next update, so it shouldn't be too much longer before it's up! This way, I also get to update a little more frequently, too! And it just prolongs the plot, don't you think?

Now that Vegeta is sober and his ego is back, he's finding a hard time coping with his behavior. And Bulma is, expectedly, beside herself! What will happen? Where is she going? How will Vegeta react when he realizes she's left? And will Trunks ever learn how to talk?

Only time will tell!

Thanks for reading!