RECAP:

After the long awaited birth of Goten at Bulma and Vegeta's house, everyone showed up to welcome the baby to the world. This included Yamcha, who seemed to have been waiting for the chance to see Bulma again. He confronts Bulma about all of the rumors that had been going through the press several months before about Vegeta abusing her after she was photographed with the bruises she got from an attempted kidnapping. Bulma became so angry that she ended up telling Yamcha the truth just what had happened, which renders him shocked to learn how completely different the truth had been.

Vegeta is pissed at Yamcha for putting Bulma in the situation, but he is able to convince the saiyan to let him go with to seek vengeance on Tadashi for starting the ill-rumors with the press in the first place. After spending the rest of the day in the city as they waited for the sun to set, Vegeta is even more irritated with Yamcha after seeing how he is so quick to flirts with opposite sex, and even tried to encourage Vegeta to do the same (despite his relationship with Bulma).

When the two finally confront Tadashi, Yamcha has a change of heart after seeing just how small and frail the guy really is. He ends up trying to come to his defense, telling Vegeta that it didn't seem right to be so harsh with him. The two end up in a fight that destroys a lot of Tadashi's apartment, and it is obviously about much more than just a disagreement on how to handle the entire situation with the beta male. During this fight Vegeta lands a hit on Yamcha while saying "This is for encouraging me to cheat on my wif - my WOMAN - with some harlot on the street!"

Tadashi ends up so intimidated by watching the fight that he begs for Vegeta's forgiveness and claims he'll do anything the saiyan asks. Little did anyone know that this entire scene may have just been something that Vegeta had been expecting, and even planned, all along. The next morning Tadashi holds a press conference in which he confesses to having fabricated the rumors and publicly begs to Bulma's forgiveness.

(If this recap does not ring familiar, be sure to re-read the last two chapters before this one! :)

Also, please be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of the chapter - it's more than just rambling, I need your opinion on something! :)

"Yay, Trunks!"

The toddler blinked back the surprise at having everyone shouting his name. He was propped up in his high chair, staring wide eyed as nearly each person he could remember meeting clapped and cheered. The only person who wasn't joining in with the cries of celebration was Vegeta, who stood at the far end of the room with his back tucked into the corner.

Mrs. Briefs had some kind of noise maker plopped in her mouth, and as she blew in it a loud squeal sounded from its tube. Trunks' mouth dropped open at this, studying his grandmother and trying to determine what to make of her behavior.

"What a big birthday boy you are!" Bulma's voice finally said, and the child tore his eyes over to see his mommy as she approached him. The toddler's eyes lit up as he examined what she was carrying with her - and it was a giant cake, the likes of which he'd never seen before!

Neon green and electric blue lined the icing, from which two tall candles were sparkling. It looked delicious, and it smelled incredible too. The crowd erupted into an adoring laugh when Trunks' jaw seemed to fall to his lap with an excited grin. He didn't care about their amusement, though, for he was all too eager to care. He waved his arms at the cake, trying to will it over to him as his mother moved so painfully slow...

"Okay, everyone!" Bulma said when she had finally placed the cake on Trunks' tray. She turned to look at her guests, even nodding an acknowledgment to Vegeta at the back of the room. "Tine to sing! On the count of three!"

But the Bluehead quickly realized that nobody was looking at her as she spoke. In fact, every eye in that room seemed to peer right through her - including Vegeta's. The saiyan, who had been sporting a disgusted grimace at the sentimentality of this entire day, was now suspiciously sporting a semi-amused grin. His expression was what made Bulma uneasy - for him to find amusement, something must surely be going wrong…

Already knowing fully well what the likely cause of disruption was, Bulma sighed as she turned around to follow everybody's gaze.

"Oh, TRUNKS!"

Small blue eyes blinked up at Bulma, the toddler's face completely covered with the neon green icing that had once been decorating his cake. His pudgy hands were also green, clumps of white dough sugar-glued to his knuckles and thumbs. His cheeks were still full as he actively chewed, and a moment later he gulped his dessert down with a satisfied smack of the lips. "Ahh!" Now, that hit the spot!

"You were supposed to wait..." Bulma put her hands on her hips, sighing with disappointment.

"Eyes hurt!" Trunks replied, blinking irritably. "My eyes hurt!"

"Well, you probably got icing in them." Bulma replied, her cheeks puffing out. She had been waiting for this moment for two years, and she'd lost her chance to watch her son finally blow out some birthday candles. "This is why you have to eat more slowly. You need to keep the food out of your eyes, remember?"

"Eyes HURT!" Trunks repeated, this time sounding more than cross. He let out a loud squeak, wiping at his face even more furiously as his irises burned unapologetically.

"Quiet, boy." Vegeta growled, and these were the first words he spoke ever since the party had commenced.

"No, DAD!" Trunks barked back. Clearly, the boy was enraged that nobody seemed to be taking his complaints seriously. "MY EYES HURT!"

"He gets this behavior from you, you know." Bulma heard Vegeta's voice as he breezed past her. "Right, because you don't have a temper at all." She replied as she stepped back and crossed her arms. In one swooping motion Vegeta pulled the tray off Trunks' highchair before scooping the child up by the back of his shirt. Lugging him as if he were a sack of grocery, the saiyan began to march towards the room's exit as Trunks slowly began to cease in his protests.

In fact, the toddler was now acutely aware that he was dangling by a few threads of his shirt, and he let out a happy coo at the thrill of it. His stomach was hovering parallel to the floor as if he were flying, and Trunks wiped the last of the icing from his eyes before looking up to see his surroundings as his father lugged him through his birthday crowd. "GO-AHN!" He grinned as he approached his favorite friend. Gohan was standing beside Chi-Chi, who was holding a 6 month old Goten in her arms. The teenager smiled at Trunks as he stepped back to make way for Vegeta. "GO-AHN!" Trunks repeated. He held his hand out for a high five, which was a new gesture he had recently learned - and it had quickly become his favorite method greeting.

Unfortunately, Vegeta was moving too swiftly for Gohan to return the high-five, and thus Trunks was left hanging. He frowned at his hand as the two made it to the dining room's door, and the child was far too distracted by this to bother saying goodbye as his father lugged him around the corner…

Bulma watched as the centerpiece of the entire party disappeared, along with his disgruntled father. There was no doubt in her mind that Vegeta was secretly glad about Trunks' antics - the antisocial alien was likely bursting inside that he'd been given a good reason to slip away from these festivities. "How disappointing..." The Bluehead muttered as someone clicked on the lights in the room.

"Good thing we've got another cake where that one came from!" Mrs. Briefs bubbled. Having already lived through the years of toddlerhood, she had prepared two cakes for this party. Bulma rolled her eyes. Her mother's announcement was a reference to an ongoing bet they had placed weeks earlier, when they'd started making arrangements for the celebration. Mrs. Briefs had insisted that Bulma shouldn't get her hopes up on everything going the way a typical birthday celebration did. In her opinion, Trunks was still far too young to understand the concept of balloons, candles, and party hats.

But Bulma, who had her hopes high, had refused to listen. The whole family had missed out on Trunks' first birthday - what with Cell, the Androids, and the impending destruction of Earth, and all. She had been waiting long enough to experience a celebration like this for her dear little son, and she was certain that everything would go just as smoothly as her dreams had led her to believe.

But damn Mrs. Briefs for being right - Trunks had just taken all normalcy and swept it into his mouth, along with that creamy cake!

"Just so we're certain." Bulma said to her mother, clearing her throat as her guests watched the exchange. "Our bet was over whether or not Trunks is old enough to blow out his own candles. SWALLOWING the cake whole has nothing to do with AGE. That is because he has his father's genes."

"Don't involve me!" Vegeta's voice blared just then. The muffle of his words sounded as if he had already made it to the stairway as he lugged Trunks even closer to his impending bath. Bulma jumped, a mischievous grin widening across her pale features. She'd known the man for years, and still the Bluehead didn't think she would ever get used to his acute sense of hearing…

...

The party was over within a few hours, when each guest slowly dissipated from the household. Mr. Briefs was the first to leave, claiming that he had eaten so much cake that he would need to nap for about seven days straight. Krillin was the second to leave, saying he had business to take care of in the city before it got too late.

Even Yamcha had shown up for the festivities, and he was so much more pleasant to Bulma than he had been in a long time. He wasn't overly defensive about her and Vegeta's relationship, he didn't say anything personal or provoking, and he was even nice enough to watch over Trunks and Goten while Bulma and Chi-Chi made last minute arrangements with the decor. Eventually Yamcha left the party with Gohan for a playful round of sparring. This was despite the fact that the Z Fighter had long ago retired from his days of training, but he was doing it just to spend time with the young teen.

And even baby Goten had grown bored of the ordeal, for he grew so cranky that Chi-Chi had to throw in the towel. "He's been teething," She had tried to explain. "He won't calm down until I get him home and run his bath."

This meant that only Mrs. Briefs was left. And after she finished helping Bulma to clean everything up, she retreated to her own house, too. Finally alone, the Bluehead was now at liberty to trail upstairs and see what the two males in her life had been up to…

… Things had grown so oddlyy routine over the last few months, with everything seeming to fall into place without any force or effort. Bulma was back to spending her days at Capsule Corp, where progress was accelerating in one of their biggest projects. Trunks spent most of his days in the care of Mrs. Briefs - although Bulma suspected that Vegeta was secretly confiscating the child so that they could train together while she was away at work. Trunks seemed to be growing stronger each time she saw him, with small muscles starting to form on his figure that both amazed and disturbed his mother at the same time whenever she saw them.

They just seemed so unfitting of her lovable little Trunks, who wouldn't hurt a fly - at least, not on purpose! Bulma couldn't help but to wonder if her two year old son was too young to be training hard enough to sport such tone, yet he seemed to be proud of them. He was half-saiyan, after all! And, of course, she did rather admire the muscles that Vegeta had packed on over his years... So what harm was this? If Vegeta wanted to spend his time bonding with his son, and Trunks didn't seem bothered by whatever it was they were doing together in the gravity room, then Bulma was ecstatic about that.

"They're all gone?" Vegeta asked as Bulma turned into their bedroom. At that moment Trunks was sitting by himself in his own room, and the two adults could hear his enthusiastic squeals as he roughly flailed his toy planes around.

"Well, there wasn't much of a party after Trunks left." The Bluehead shrugged. She let herself fall back on her bed, looking up at the saiyan as he pulled a fresh set of clothes from the dresser. "So, how bad was it for you? Were you dying inside the whole time? You looked miserable."

"It wasn't bad." His lips were pursed.

"What a lie!" Bulma sat up with a grin, grabbing a pillow and playfully brandishing it at him. The saiyan didn't find humor in her childish threat. Instead of smirking, like she had expected, he simply rolled his eyes. "You invited Yamcha to our house, again."

"Yeah, well..." Her smile was dropping. She knew that he wasn't a fan of get-togethers, but was he actually angry about this? "Everybody else was coming. At this point if I'm inviting everyone, then it's basically mandatory that he be included, too."

"Right, but he was still here. For the first time since Kakarot's son was born."

"Yes, I know. It's been a few months since we've seen him, but what does that have to do with-"

"The last time I saw him, I kicked his ass." Vegeta no longer seemed angry, but instead appeared to be distracted by his own thoughts as he commenced pacing around the room. Bulma's frown deepened with curiosity as she watched. What was with him? "I kicked his ass, and I'm being reminded of it all over again."

"I know what happened, I was there." Bulma stood up. Of course, she was thinking back on when the saiyan had punched Yamcha out for cornering her into confessing about being attacked. She'd gotten so emotional as she replayed that night to her ex, and Vegeta had simply reacted to the situation... Of course, the Bluehead wasn't aware that Vegeta and Yamcha had been involved in another dispute just a few hours later... in Tadashi's own living room...

"I'm not talking about when he was here and making a fool out of himself!" Vegeta snapped. He purposely had avoided telling Bulma anything of what happened the night that he and Yamcha disappeared into West City, despite how many times she tried to ask him where he'd run off to. The saiyan was smart though, and he knew that Bulma had a suspicion that he had something to do with the beta male's desperate plea for forgiveness on national television. He wouldn't admit to it, though - why should he? He had gotten a taste of sweet revenge - even though it had been far less violent than he was used to.

The saiyan rather enjoyed that the confrontation was his little secret, but now he sighed and ran an irritable hand through his hair. He was going to have to tell her the truth, and he was going to have to endure the humiliation of it.

"Look..." He muttered, storming across the room to take a stiff seat at the opposite end of the bed…

.

"You know, I can see why you didn't want to tell me what you did." Bulma frowned thoughtfully after his recap was all said and done. "I mean - I was pretty defensive for a while because I didn't want to admit that you were right about him... But I wish you would have just told me. I knew you had something to do with it! I just knew!"

She had a smile on her face, and Vegeta leaned away at she began to crawl across the bed to him.

"He looked so scared when he was making his announcement, and I had no doubt you did something to him... I had no idea you got him to confess without laying a finger on him..." She was grinning ear to ear now. "You really were trying to take my wishes into consideration – and- Oh, Vegeta, that's just so brilliant!"

"I beat up Yamcha." He scowled, fighting the sensation of his cheeks turning red. Gads - this was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid. He quick dodged away as Bulma attempted to wrap her adoring arms around him, his stomach pulsing with the sickening threat of this mushy behavior. Oh, he hated having to so bluntly admit when he'd done something out of care! "I laid more than just a finger on him. Weren't you listening? I did use my hands!"

"Yeah, but Yamcha can take a punch." Bulma was shrugging this part of the story off with far too much ease. "And he didn't seem to mind when I saw him today." She was stepping off the bed now so she could continue her advances on the saiyan. He jumped even further away, shaking his head like a reluctant child. "That isn't even the point of this, Woman! Don't lose sight!"

His tone worked, because Bulma immediately fell back on the mattress again. Now Vegeta was pacing back and forth across the bedroom once more, and he was starting to look at if he were trying to convince himself that it was worth continuing with what he was wanting to say. "When I was clashing with Yamcha back in the Beta's home, a word slipped out of my mouth." He looked as if he were trying not to hurl, and he closed his strained eyes as if the memory pained him to even think of.

"What word?" The bubbly admiration was gone from the Bluehead's voice, who was once again curious as to what on Earth had left this man so distraught. "What did you call him? Look, if it was something derogatory then-"

"I didn't call him anything!" Vegeta's fuse blew as he whirled on her. "Stop assuming and let me finish, Woman! This has nothing to do with anything I called that pig! The word I used was in reference to YOU!"

"What-"

"I called you my WIFE, DAMNIT!" Vegeta was barking as he spun around on his heels to make sure his back was to the Bluehead as the words left his mouth. "I told Yamcha you were my wife, instead of my Woman!"

"Oh…"

"Dahhhd called Mommy a-" Trunks, who had obviously been listening in on his father's loud yells, began to cheerfully sing from the other room. "Not now, son!" Vegeta spat before turning to face Bulma again. "I tried to forget about my slip of tongue, but I haven't. It was honestly haunting me for days after the event, but eventually I was able to free myself of its harassment of my conscious. Seeing that fiend again only made me it come back, and I can't do this again. Look, I want to – I… I WANT to use that word in literal terms, Woman! Do you understand what that means!?"

"Uh-"

He was staring into her eyes, breathing heavily as he slow-stepped towards her. There was actually a line of sweat running down the side of his face, and his bright red cheeks were slowing starting to fade back to their normal olive hue. Vegeta's eyes were wide with internal relief at having finally made this confession, and he was looking her up and down as he stopped just above her body. Bulma had her head dropped to avoid his gaze, instead choosing to stare at his thighs as she considered everything he had just said.

And then, without another word, he sat. He sat so close that his shoulders were nudging into her own as he relaxed into the mattress, and finally he let out the breath of air he'd been holding. Bulma quickly realized that the saiyan wasn't planning on elaborating on what, exactly, all of this meant. He knew that he didn't have to explain – he was just going to let her process everything and come to her own conclusion. The Bluehead stared down at her knees, feeling as his body relaxed even deeper against her side. Clearly he was happy to have gotten this off his chest, but she was far from it.

This just wouldn't do for her.

"That's it?"

"Yes… That's all." Vegeta mumbled. Evidently, he had been waiting to hear what her reaction would be, and the words she used hadn't been what he was expecting.

"No." Bulma shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows. "No – no, no. You can't be serious?"

"Why would I say something like that if I wasn't?"

"Because that is not acceptable!" The Bluehead pushed herself up from the bed. Now it was her turn to start pacing around the room. She was violently shaking her head as she moved, speaking so fast that she could have been talking to herself, for all intents and purposes. "No. You don't get to just start referring to me as your wife – not like that."

"What do yo-"

"Look at me, Vegeta!" Bulma snapped her fingers. Now she was the one to have red cheeks – although, judging by her expression, the discoloration came from anger rather than embarrassment. "I'm Bulma Briefs – just look at me! Do you know how valuable I am?! Not only am I a feast for the eyes, but I'm also the heiress of a multi-billion dollar industry! Do you know how rare someone like me is?! How many men would give their arms and legs just to see me in the flesh?! Do you know how lucky you are to even be breathing my air?!"

"I'm nowhere near as lucky as you are." The saiyan snapped back, never one to back down from a challenge – especially when it was a contest of egos. "In case you've forgotten, Woman, but I-"

"Yeah, yeah-" She waved her hand at him in dismissal. "You're the prince of an entire ancient warrior race, hell bent on destruction of the masses, could end an whole planet with the palm of your hand… I get it. I've heard this a thousand times before, whatever! But I! I am Bulma Briefs! And I am NOT going to settle for such a ridiculous proposal like that!"

"I-"

"You know – I get that you're an alien, and you don't understand a lot of Earth customs. Obviously, I understand. And I CAN SEE that you're not the kind of man to get down on one knee and give me some speech about how special I am to you, but – oh - come on! You didn't even ask me if I even want to be your wife, you idiot! I deserve a lot better than that!" She was once again shaking her head as if she was trying to render herself dizzy, and now she was making for the door. "Gah – and I thought the proposal Yamcha gave me was awful! At least he has the excuse of just having been young and stupid at the time! I'd expect way better from you!"

Vegeta watched as Bulma disappeared down the hall, resisting the urge to shout something snide back. But, as the moments passed, so did the feeling of contempt that came with being berated in such a way… Did Bulma really care that much about how Vegeta presented the topic of matrimony? Was a wedding proposal really that big of a deal on this scrawny planet?

It wasn't as if what just occurred had even an actual wedding – it was only a mere proposal! Why did the manner in which he told her his desires matter?! He had finally sucked it up and confessed that he wanted to consider her his wife – shouldn't she be happy about that? Shouldn't she be jumping for joy at such an opportunity, instead of fixating on technicalities?

"Wait a minute…" His tongue curled as her words replayed in his head. "You didn't even ask me if I even want to be your wife, you idiot!" She had barked. What did that imply? Was the idea of this something that she actually had to consider? Did she not automatically feel that this was the next reasonable course of action? Did she not want to be such a thing as his wife?

He could hear Bulma speaking to Trunks from the other room. She was scolding the boy – telling him that a "tummy-ache" was the reasonable consequence for consuming an entire birthday cake – including lit candles - in just two seconds.

"But it HURTS!" Trunks was wailing back at his mom. Vegeta furrowed his eyebrows. This child had only been two Earth years old for less than twenty-four hours, and his attitude was already exponentially worse than it had been just a day earlier. It was if becoming two years old had awakened some type of demon within the boy's veins. "Don't talk back to your mother, son!" Vegeta called from where he sat, and he raised a hand to massage his throbbing temples.

Once again, Bulma had made sure that the day was coming to an end in a much different way that the saiyan had been anticipating. "Great." He was growling. "I suppose I'll have to have a conversation with her mother."

.

Mrs. Briefs was trimming one of her rose bushes when a shadow formed from behind her. She had been humming to herself as she worked, and she didn't miss a note as she nodded to acknowledge her company. "Trunksie has just fallen asleep for his morning nap, V. You can wake him up, but he'll be extra cranky during his training today!"

"Yes, I know that." Vegeta's voice replied, sounding just as cranky as Mrs. Briefs had predicted her grandson to be. "Listen, I'm not here for the boy. I came here for you."

"Me?" She spun around, breaking a rosebud off of her bush in the process. "Aww, V! You wanna visit with me?"

"Yes, but… but don't touch me." He preemptively took a step back to dodge any hug she might try to offer, holding his hands out in front of himself to act as a shield. Mrs. Briefs, the ever so bubbly and affectionate woman that she was, always had the instinct to hug and kiss anyone she felt fit. She had known he saiyan for years, and despite his mannerisms she still treated him no differently than anybody else. She didn't care how he felt about hugs or smooches, and it never surprised her when he acted to off-put. "One day he'll come around," She always told herself during these moments, so she was never very offended by his chronically defensive demeanor.

This man – oh, Mrs. Briefs just loved him. He was obsessive compulsive, extremely hot-headed and brash, and even a bit anti-social when it came to pleasantries, but Vegeta was still such a sweetheart. She had been around to witness his relationship with Bulma through the years, which included the more difficult of times. His reserved and brute nature had caused quite a rift between the two at one point - but she had also seen tremendous growth in him since then. Vegeta was still just as standoffish as ever to nearly everyone he met, but when it came to his family he was one of the most attentive men that Mrs. Briefs had ever known. It was clear that the saiyan had found a way to take a lot of the trauma and isolation he had grown used to during his time, and channel it into his blossoming family rather than living in absolute scorn instead. Bulma and Trunks seemed to be the only things keeping him from succumbing to the darker sides of his mind, and he really had put in a lot of work into what the couple now had… He tried not to show or express it openly, but it was plain to see in his actions alone that his entire world revolved around Bulma and Trunks! And, for that alone, Mrs. Briefs could never take any of the saiyan's actions personally. Not even when he so bluntly spat for her not to touch him – which really was rather rude!

"Come on, V, let's go inside. I'll make ya somethin' to eat, and you can tell me what's on your mind." Mrs. Briefs smiled – oh, how she wished she could put an arm around his shoulders! Vegeta nodded, his lips pale from how tightly he was pursing them. The grandmother smiled down as the little rosebud in her hand before gently placing it back on the bush. Then, with a small giggle, she began to lead the saiyan to the dining room. She was rather curious to see what this visit was about!

AN: There we go – FINALLY! We have an update to The 7 Year Gap! Yay! I hope this was a good ease back into things. ;) It is no secret that I have been going through a bout of writer's block with this story, but I've got enough of a plot worked up in my head to keep this going for a while. That being said, I am a much busier person than I was the last time I updated. I know that I will not be posting new chapters to my stories as consistently as I would like, but I am going to try to give them as much attention as I can.

I have been thinking of making either a Tumblr or a Twitter for the sole purpose of communicating outside of fanfiction. That way I can keep you all in the loop when I start on a new chapter, when I anticipate the next update will be, etc… That way you all won't be left to wonder if I am ever even going to come back, or if I disappeared off the face of the planet forever. I have seen other authors that do this, which is how I got the idea. So, what do you all think? Would a twitter or tumblr page be something you would even care about? Please let me know in a review and I'll take it into consideration!