Chapter Sixteen:

Bulma lay in a field of bright green grass. A small stream ran clear-blue beside her and the scent in the air was of lavender and something she didn't recognize, but still good. She looked up at the sky, which was covered in a layer of thin white clouds. Something about this place was nostalgic to her. She closed her eyes and breathed for a while, relaxing under the warmth of the sun. She smiled to herself.

This was nice. She wished it could always be like this—calm… warm.

She sat upright and stretched, looking to the sky once again. Everything was so bright. And green. Something about this place was familiar to her. It didn't look anything like Planet Vegeta. And it felt so much better than the cold aura of the Saiyan castle. It felt like… home.

She looked across the stream to a tree. She knew it. She remembered those big roots and how they twisted and turned in and out of the ground, like art. She remembered hiding there—hiding from something—and digging her nails into the mud. But it wasn't muddy now. The ground looked dry, as if it hadn't rained in days. And the tree wasn't the same, either. It was different—bigger, greener. The leaves were bushier. The trunk was thicker and darker and the branches spread wider. It was healthy and happy under the sun.

She heard a voice call her and she turned… and she almost cried.

"Mom," she whispered, standing.

The blonde woman just smiled at her, the way she always used to, eyes crinkling. She held out her open arms. Bulma grinned so hard it hurt and stood, running at her with everything she had.

"Mom," she repeated, crying tears of joy. She ran right into the woman's arms and smiled, holding her tight. "I missed you so much." She lifted her head, not wanting to miss a second of this face—this face she thought she'd forgotten. She was so glad she hadn't. "I love you so much," she laughed, tears dripping down her cheeks and neck. And she continued smiling that crinkly smile. That smile that said "I'm proud of you. I love you, too."

She didn't wake up violently. In fact, it was kind of nice. The aura remained as she woke. She felt happy, nostalgic and calm. And the warmth from the sun was as strong as ever, even though she knew there was no sun in here.

She blinked her eyes open slowly, and squeezed tighter, not wanting to let her mother go again. But she knew even before she opened her eyes that it was a dream. And her mother was gone. And there was no field of green grass and clear-blue streams. And that tree died long ago, along with her planet. The dream was just a fantasy—an illusion. And yet she couldn't stop herself from feeling like she'd actually just been there.

Half-asleep, she looked up. And she saw him.

His face was calm, too. His lips were slightly parted, and his breathing was slow. His eyes were shut, but she could see them move a bit in his sleep. His chest rose and fell with each breath, and Bulma realized that she was still holding him. And he was warm… This was her sun.

She closed her eyes and pushed the side of her face into his chest.

Why did it have to be him?

Out of anyone on this savage planet… Out of everyone in the entire universe, why was it that this man made her feel warm? Why did laying here with him calm her? Why did sleeping beside him make her nostalgic for better days and safety? Why did being here now make her feel so free? Because she wasn't free. And she wasn't safe. While being calm was a ruse and nostalgia was for the weak…

She exhaled and gently pulled herself even closer to him. His warmth radiated from his bare skin, making those annoying butterflies come back. And she remembered what she'd done… She'd given in to him. What he'd been waiting for—she just gave it to him. She wanted to hold onto her dignity and whatever else she could scavenge from the scraps of her life, and yet she'd thrown away her pride and she did exactly what she thought she'd never do. She gave in.

But she couldn't bring herself to regret it, strangely enough. The feel of his skin on her fingertips was electric, and she ran her hand over his side, down past his waistline, feeling the side of his hip before tracing the lines of muscle in his stomach, and up the middle of his chest. She rolled her fingers over his shoulder and went back to holding him, and for some reason she felt genuinely special. Despite everything she told herself, she knew that this was something she'd never seen him do with another woman—just lay here, until morning. Sleeping, with all his walls and guards down. In general, she knew he didn't like to be touched for no reason, and yet she knew that she could. She knew that if he woke and she wanted to run her hands down his body, he would let her. And that was exciting. It made the butterflies go crazy.

On the other hand, it was strange for him to not wake while she felt him. She never knew him to be such a heavy sleeper, unless he was having a dream.

As if he read her mind, he moved, his hand circling from her stomach to her side, and it rested there, in the crevice between her hipbone and the bottom of her ribcage. It felt like it fit perfectly. And he pulled her a bit, as if the non-existent distance between their upper bodies was still too far.

Bulma felt a small smile creep its way to her lips. She breathed slowly for a few minutes before closing her eyes. But just as she was about to fall back asleep, a knock at the door jolted her awake. And as soon as she jumped, the prince's hand on her side tightened, and he pulled her harder against him. He groaned and curled inward a bit. She felt his legs hit hers and his mouth met the top of her head. His hand slid to her back as another knock came, and she listened to him grumble in his half-sleep.

"I'll get it," she whispered, pushing on his chest. But he didn't let her go. His hand stayed on her lower back, keeping them touching. "V… Vegeta, the door…" Another knock came and Bulma struggled to push away from him, wondering if her was really awake or not.

She looked up at him just as his eyes squinted open and their gazes met. Bulma's lips parted and she gulped. She wanted to look away, but the distance between them was too much.

Immediately, he leaned his head down and kissed her, pulling her up from his hand on her back. She gasped when he pulled her harder and their faces were less than an inch apart, even when he broke the kiss. And she watched as his eyes lidded and he nodded off again. She stared at his face, wondering when he got so cute…

Bulma mentally shook her head. God, what was wrong with her? It was fine and clearly uncontrollable for her to love someone, but Vegeta… cute? She was obviously starving to death and probably sleep-deprived from waking up in the middle of the night. But there was filtered light coming in through the curtains outside the double doors, and she knew it was way past morning. She even felt like she'd slept for twelve hours.

Their noses almost touching, she barely had to move at all to press her lips against his. And when she did, she felt his mouth twitch a little against hers, his eyes still closed. She kissed him again, but in his next inhale he started lightly snoring and Bulma had to stop herself from laughing in his face—literally.

The knock at the door came again, this time louder, and the prince grunted and flipped onto his back, turning his head away and letting go of her side. Bulma pursed her lips and moved a little closer to him, shuffling her way along the bed. He moved his other arm and she realized she'd been using it as a pillow this whole time. And as she lifted her head, he pulled it back and her head hit the mattress. She frowned at how flat it was without his arm there.

The knock came yet again, louder than ever, and more persistent. It went on for almost twenty seconds and she finally heard Vegeta growl. She watched as his eyes opened and his face turned sour—so much for being cute—and he turned to lock eyes with her again. Bulma flushed, but watched as his eyes slowly looked down and stared.

Before she could ask what he was doing, she caught a glimpse of herself and looked down. And screamed, grabbing the blanket and pulling it up to her chin. The damn baggy tank top had moved in her sleep, and her chest had been fully exposed—pushed up, even. God, her nipples had been stiff, too. She panted and squirmed to move farther away from him, but frowned when he just rolled his eyes and put his gaze back on the ceiling.

"What?" she stammered, but he ignored her as another round of knocking came. She heard him mutter something under his breath, that sounded a lot like cursing and plenty of badmouthing. He angrily threw the covers off himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood, fully nude, and stomped over to the door, swinging it open in an obvious rage. Bulma couldn't help but notice his erection sticking up. She tried to look away, but he wasn't watching her, so she glanced a little longer than usual, remembering the feel of it in her hands… How it twitched and pulsed and got harder and hotter. The ridges running back and forth over her palm and that veiny feeling when he finally—

"What is it?!" Vegeta shouted at whoever was on the other side of the doorway. Bulma immediately felt bad for whoever it was, but her thoughts changed when she heard the voice of a woman reply. She couldn't make out words, but she didn't like the way it sounded. It was soothing and almost seductive. Bulma fixed her shirt, stuffed herself back in, and rolled herself to the edge of the large bed. She quietly stood and tiptoed over to the double doors, staying on the one step that separated the bedroom from the rest of the prince's chambers.

She took that one step down and peered around the open door, finding exactly what she thought she heard—a tall, purple-skinned woman with fluorescent green hair smiled at the prince, one hand on her hip as she stood to one side, one leg kicking out in front of her with a pair of bright white heels. She wore a short white skirt and a white crop top, with pointy nipples looking like they were about to poke through the thin fabric.

"So, what do you say, handsome?" she smirked, looking him up and down. But then she noticed Bulma and smirked even wider. "And I see you've been playing with inexperienced girls these days." She pointed to Vegeta, motioning at his body and Bulma glanced at the prince. She stared wide-eyed at the crusty milk-like residue from last night, spread all up his stomach. She involuntarily looked at her hand. "The poor girl couldn't even swallow properly," the purple-skinned woman snickered. "Why don't you let me take it from here, little girl." She took one step forward, but Vegeta didn't move out of the way.

Bulma looked back and forth between the two a few times before anyone made a sound.

"Not now," Vegeta finally said and Bulma couldn't help but smirk back at the woman. But after a few moments, she paused. Wait… Not now?

"Excuse me?" the woman gawked. "You're going to let her try to redeem herself?" she asked, waving him up and down. "Or are you just going to take care of that yourself?" She pointed to his erection. "Because from this point of view it looks like your hand would do a better job than that little—"

"I said not now," Vegeta said, and the threat was obvious. The woman pressed her lips together, probably wondering if she was already dead, and averted her eyes.

"Fine. I'll come back later then," she huffed, turning on her spiked heels and whirling around before stomping off down the hall. Vegeta immediately closed the door and turned, not looking at her. Bulma just watched his back for a second.

"Wh… What are you doing?" she asked, her voice barely coming out of her throat. "Vegeta…"

She watched as the prince closed his eyes and breathed in slow, and then out. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Prepare me a shower, woman," he said, and Bulma frowned.

"What was that?" she asked quietly, looking at the ground.

"What was what?"

She stayed quiet, not sure how to talk to him about this. She felt like if she started talking about how she felt, he would laugh in her face. He'd made it clear that their relationship wasn't… normal. So, maybe this kind of thing wasn't in the rulebook for… whatever it was they were doing together.

"That woman is going to come back," she decided to say, looking at the ground. But she couldn't go any further than that. She couldn't say that she didn't like it. She couldn't say that she was going to get jealous or upset or anything, because it wasn't her place. And it made her sad because she knew that was the truth.

"You know you're always welcome to watch," he replied flatly. "Or join."

"Nothing changes, right?" she whispered. Her voice was low and she could barely hear herself, but she knew he heard her.

There was silence for a moment, before the prince let out an exasperated sigh, as if she was a child talking about things she didn't understand. Bulma finally looked up and frowned at him. The least he could do was be a little understanding.

"Woman, I have hundreds of whores, who have been specifically trained to please me. What do you think would happen if I suddenly just started turning them all away?" He sat on the end of the bed and leaned forward, staring at her. He was still naked. And still hard. It took everything she had to not look below his face, even though he spread his legs, as if to test her self-control. It made her hate him a little in that moment.

"I guess you'd have a bunch of useless prostitutes," Bulma frowned.

"If I suddenly started sending them away, the entire castle would know about it within the week," he said, lifting an eyebrow. "It would cause unnecessary problems."

"Like what?" She crossed her arms, feeling more and more like a child, as what he explained to her began to make sense. And she hated that it made sense.

"Why is this a problem?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "You won't even allow me to touch you half the time. And if I suddenly stopped using my women, the entire castle would know about it, including my father. And any female suspected of being the reason for that would become a target, and you've taken up residence in my room… Not only that, but—"

"It makes me jealous," she said, without thinking.

"What?"

"I would get… jealous," Bulma frowned again, and Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. So much for saying how she felt. She knew that wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Not that you would understand, but as a Saiyan male I have physical needs that don't involve food and water."

"Yea, like a shower." She pursed her lips.

"You made this mess," Vegeta grunted, waving his hand towards himself and the crusted goo on his lower stomach. "You should be the one to clean it."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does it bother you that I'm not going to lick it off you like that whore was going to do? Maybe you should invite her back then."

He frowned at her. "I can't turn them all away."

"You can't or you don't want to?"

"Both." There was more silence and Bulma kept looking at the ground. "Look at me," he said, and a few seconds later, he pressed, "Look at me." And Bulma looked up at him, legs spread, erection still in place. She looked away again and listened to him speak. "On average, how many times a day do those women show up?" Bulma didn't answer, but he kept talking. "Usually one or two, right? So, coming off of that, do you really expect me to just stop? And that's ignoring that fact that you won't even let me fuck you—"

"You're right," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I won't." He narrowed his eyes back at her and they just stayed like that for a little while. Bulma didn't even know how to respond. It was true, that he fucked women daily, and she didn't know why she ever thought that she could be a reason for him to stop. She knew that men had those kinds of physical needs, and Saiyans had them more than any other species she knew of, but… The way he explained it… "So, even if I had slept with you last night… you still wouldn't turn them away…"

He paused before answering, as if he was thinking of changing the subject. "Why would I?"

Bulma didn't know how to explain the concept of cheating, since it was probably just a term from her species. And even if he did understand, it wouldn't change anything. There was no such thing as dating on this planet, and even in Saiyan marriages, the men always had mistresses and concubines, aside from their wives. Hell, King Vegeta had multiple wives, as well as countless mistresses. And he probably had specially-trained whores, too.

This was why she fantasized about Yamcha before… Because, as two people from Earth, he was supposed to love her and protect her, and be with her, and only her. That was how she used to see her future—with a man that wanted nothing but her, saw no one but her… There was no such thing here. And what she wanted would never happen. Her best chance of being with Vegeta was to be one of his mistresses—to share him with others, and be beneath the women he would end up marrying… Less important… And even though he made her feel special sometimes, she felt as if he could throw her away without a second thought. There were so many women in the universe, after all.

The thought of marriage instantly dampened her mood, as if it wasn't damp enough already. She'd never even thought of that before… Vegeta would one day have to marry someone—if not multiple someones—to unite planets or species. He would have to have children with a full-blooded Saiyan female, at the very least, to continue his royal bloodline. He was already being forced to have a child with the Warkinds, and Bulma had the feeling that even if he somehow managed to get out of doing it with that princess-brat, there would be someone to soon take her place. And then, she would just be another mistress… While he had children with other women… women who would take priority over her…

God, she was thinking too much. One night being close to him like that and she was starting to think about marriage and children and mistresses. She needed some fresh air. She needed to stop thinking like a crazy chambermaid and start planning for her future… Her future with Yamcha's child…

"I'll… I'm going to get some food…" she whispered, quickly grabbing some new, more fitting clothes from the dresser. "I'll bring you back a meal, and… I'll call for a woman to keep you company while I'm gone." She opened the door without looking at him, and whispered, "I'm sorry. I forgot my place, your Highness…"

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"Oh, he's letting you wear his clothes now?" Maron squealed, clapping her hands together as she entered the baking room. Chichi instantly shot the blue-haired girl a glare, and her eyes softened a bit when she saw Bulma's face. "Oh, jeez. What did he do now?"

"It's not even what he did," Bulma said, "It's what I did."

"Oh my god, you didn't… Did you?"

"No, Chichi… Well, it didn't get that far, at least… But, no." She paused. "I don't know why I expected him to care… He just… acted like he did. And I guess I fell for it, like a dumb bi—"

"Bulma!" Chichi yelped. "Listen, I know he's a bit much, but I swear, when he came here looking for you yesterday—and you can ask Goku, too. He was right here with me—he almost lost it when he realized where you were. He went crazy… like, I thought he was going to start blowing up the kitchen. And all he could think about was saving you. I'm not kidding. I saw it in his eyes. Just ask Goku."

"Ask me what?" the spikey-haired Saiyan asked, walking into the bakery with six huge bags of flour in his arms. He set them down on the bench behind Chichi, letting out a big puff of white smoke into the air.

"Thanks, babe. I was just telling Bulma how Vegeta acted when he found out that she was in the dungeons."

"You mean when I thought I was going to have to stop him from destroying the kitchen?"

Chichi laughed. "Yea, that." She looked back at Bulma. "See?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Bulma sighed, sitting down on one of the benches. She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes. "I have less than two weeks and then I'm going to be a mother, whether I like it or not."

The room went silent, and it was obvious why. Chichi had gotten out of the mating because of Goku, and Maron was in the same boat as Bulma—she was going to be a mother, too. It wasn't a good thing to bring up with this crowd, but she couldn't help it.

"It was exciting and all to be treated a little different than everyone else for a time, but he's made it very clear that I'm not as special as… as he made me feel… Or maybe I just stupidly felt it all by myself."

"What are you talking about?" Goku asked, and Bulma looked up when he sounded off. He stared at her as if she had ten heads. "Of course he treats you like you're special. He has you marked."

"What?" Chichi burst out, whirling on him. "Really? Goku, why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I thought it was obvious…"

"Hello?" Bulma said, waving her hand above her head, "What are you talking about?"

Goku turned back to her. "He has you marked… When you're next to each other, you guys give off a certain scent… I do the same thing with Chichi. It happens between Saiyans and Earthlings to… well, I guess it's to ward off other guys from getting near you… if they can smell it… I mean, yours was a bit weak, but it was definitely there. It gets a lot stronger once you've mated."

"I'm not going to sleep with him," Bulma barked.

Chichi rolled her eyes. "Well, you just said you did something with him—"

"I can smell it on you," Goku said, lifting an eyebrow. "It's all over your arm. Any other Saiyan would be able to smell it, too, you know." Bulma flushed bright red and looked away. She'd scrubbed her hand and arm before coming here. How could he smell it?

"It doesn't matter. I did it. Whatever. I was stupid to think that it would make any difference, but he still treats me like shit. I legit woke up this morning and he told me that he's still going to sleep with all his prostitutes. And I tried to tell him that it made me feel weird, which he should already know, and he just brushed me off. I ended up leaving and getting the girl to come back anyway, so he's probably fucking her as we speak… He doesn't give a damn about me… about anything."

"He's a needy guy," Maron piped in, rolling out some dough. "And you just said that you're not going to sleep with him, so of course he's just going to get it somewhere else." She shrugged and Bulma glared at her. That wasn't the point…

"Well, it's not that he doesn't care about you," Goku said, lifting an eyebrow. "It's just the position he's in. As the future leader of Planet Vegeta, he can't exactly be with an Earthling… It just wouldn't work out, for plenty of reasons. But I can guarantee that if you're in danger… Well, you saw how he reacted in the dungeons. And the mating… I don't know if he told you or not, but both the king and his heir are required to sit on the throne and watch during a true mating. So, when the time comes… to be honest, I'm not sure if Vegeta has what it takes to actually sit and watch that happen to you… And that could be one of many things bothering him."

"He… he's going to have to watch?" Bulma stammered. "No… he didn't tell me that…"

"Bulma…" Goku said sadly, lowering his head. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "I only know this because I've been training with Vegeta since we were kids… and you can never tell him that you know, but… The king murdered Vegeta's mother when we were little, and… Well, I don't know the full story, but ever since then, Vegeta has always talked about women as… complications. And I know he gets that from his father, but… He was taught to use women for whatever he wants and then throw them away. And getting attached to someone like that is… forbidden, in a sense. The king would torture him and have you killed for sure if he even got a hint of that from Vegeta… To him, you would just be a weakness for him to remove. And I'm not trying to scare you, but Vegeta isn't going to be able to just dismiss that side of himself, either. He grew up thinking that women were just… a weakness." He looked at Chichi and smiled. "But he doesn't realize the strength that comes from it."

Bulma sighed. "It would be so much easier if he could just take some time to explain this to me himself…"

"That's just not who he is," Goku said, wearing a half-smile. "If I had to guess, I'd say he's just trying to sort out whatever's going through his head. And he's trying to keep you alive. He's not thinking about how you feel or how his decisions are going to affect you, besides physically."

"That makes sense," Chichi said, giving her best friend a reassuring smile. "If the prince knows that you're in danger if anyone finds out that he cares about you, then of course he would want to put some distance between the two of you."

"And he's right. About the women that he keeps. And even about the mating. It sucks, but I can see how he's doing it to protect you…"

"Sleeping with other people isn't protecting me. And I can't believe he has to watch… And he knew this whole time and didn't say anything."

"Why don't you show him how it feels and go sleep with someone else, too?" Maron said, smirking. Chichi glowered at her and Goku blinked a few times before looking confused as all hell.

"I don't think that trying to prove a point would help them right now," he said to her. Maron just snickered and went back to rolling out dough.

"I can't pretend to be okay with it," Bulma said. "I can't go back to his room and tell him that it's okay and I'm fine with it. I can't just ignore that it makes me feel like shit, and that I just have to let it happen anyway… because it keeps me safe? That's ridiculous."

"Don't you get it? It's the same for him with the mating," Goku frowned. "I can tell you for sure that he's not okay with it, and it definitely puts him in a bad mood. But he has to let it happen anyway in order to protect you."

"Then why can't he do what you did?" Bulma asked, already knowing the answer. "Why can't he claim me and then just say that I'm one of many? He doesn't have to act like I'm important or special, but he could at least try…"

"I think this is him trying, Bulma…" Chichi frowned. "He's letting you stay in his room. He obviously wants to keep you safe. And it sounds like he's doing it this way because he thinks it's his only option."

"Is it, though?" Bulma asked, and she found herself looking to Goku, who just pursed his lips and slowly nodded. She looked away. "I don't want it to be like this," she sighed. "I don't want to just be some secret that he keeps and uses when it's convenient for him. I don't want to be one of many…"

"But you're not," Goku added, his half-smile coming back. "He's attached to you. He cares about you. For a Saiyan and an Earthling, that's a pretty special combination. And even though he's got a rock for a brain sometimes, he knows that. He has to be able to feel it… You never know—maybe it scares him."

"What do you mean?"

"Chichi and I… Well, I can feel her, more than a Saiyan could feel anyone else in the world. Even if she's halfway across the planet, I can tell if she's hurt, or scared. I can tell if her heart speeds up or if the air around her is too cold for her… It wasn't noticeable before we mated, but… Vegeta already has that for you. Like I said, when you two were next to each other, the scent he gave off was a warning to other males to stay away from you. And I don't think he realizes that yet. He does a little, but I don't think it's really clicked yet."

"But we haven't… mated," Bulma said, hoping she wasn't turning red. But when she looked up, Goku had a pained expression on his face. "W…What?" Bulma asked.

"I just thought of something…" he said, and pain was written all over his face. He glanced at Chichi, who looked back at him, confused.

"What?" Bulma pressed, and Goku turned back to her.

"I know you said you don't want to mate with him, but… if you change your mind, I would wait until after the mating to do it, because…" He trailed off, looking back at Chichi. "Having to watch something like that would be horrible by itself, but… I think, if Vegeta was fully mated to you, and he felt this kind of connection… He wouldn't be able to control himself if you were in that much distress, right in front of him… I know I wouldn't be able to. Even if I knew… in the back of my mind… that you could die…" He trailed off again and Bulma watched as Chichi dropped what she was doing and ran over to him, grabbing him and holding him tight. Bulma had to look away as he lifted his arms and pulled her against him, stuffing his face in her hair.

"He cares about you, Bulma," Chichi finally said, and she spoke over Goku's shoulder. "I doubt that there's an easy solution to any of this… But I think that it'll all work out eventually. It really is something special when a Saiyan loves you… Trust me."

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Bulma looked at the ground the entire walk back to the prince's chambers. And she made sure to take her time, like she said she would. She only looked up when she heard giggling, and knew she was getting close to her destination.

A group of four young women, all dressed in drab clothing, huddled around the door to Vegeta's room. They couldn't have been much past fifteen years-old. Their giggling was quiet, but they were shushing each other and waving their hands around, too. Bulma frowned, but walked over to them anyway. One had her ear pressed up against the door, and every so often she would jump, and the others would smile and start giggling again.

"Excuse me," Bulma said, "What are you doing?"

One of the young women looked over at her and started angrily shushing her, but Bulma just rolled her eyes. She watched as the one girl jumped again and the rest of them ignored Bulma and started whispering amongst themselves, with that annoying giggling.

As she got closer, and she was a few feet from the door, she finally realized what was going on, and she wished she'd stayed away a little longer. A long, low moan came from the other side of the door, and the four young women went back to snickering. Bulma stood frozen as a more high-pitched yelping noise began and kept going, as if on repeat, for a good ten seconds. And one of the four girls finally lost it. Her voice barked out in laughter. Two of them immediately bolted, escaping down the hall. The two that remained covered their mouths to try and stop the laughing, but the silence that followed scared them, too, and they ran down the hall. Bulma just watched them, and as they rounded a corner and disappeared, the door opened behind her. She turned to find a familiar, purple-skinned, fully nude woman standing under the doorway, panting heavily. And when her eyes met Bulma's, she gave her the nastiest look.

"Was that you?!" she panted, clearly barely able to catch her breath, "Were you laughing outside the door?! I would've figured you'd start crying, because you're missing out, you little whore!"

"Look who's talking…" Bulma frowned.

"Woman!" Vegeta barked from inside the room. Bulma crossed her arms over her chest, using them to press down on her heart as it raced. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second before opening them.

"Answer him!" the woman screamed, saliva hitting Bulma in the face. She took another few seconds to close her eyes and stop herself from having an unpleasant reaction. "Now!" Bulma slowly opened her eyes and dropped her gaze to the floor, forcing herself to stay that way for a moment. She breathed, slowly, in and out, before turning on her heel and walking back the way she'd come from. Obviously, those two needed much more time than what she'd given them. Goku and Chichi probably didn't want to be bothered anymore today, so Launch was her best option. Plus, she hadn't seen or spoken to her friend in—

"Woman!"

Bulma whirled, half-expecting him to be mad about her not answering him. But she had a right to leave, especially if he was with another woman. There was no way he could expect her to stay there with the two of them… But she was face-to-face with the naked woman, who raised her hand high above her head. Bulma's eyes went wide and she gasped, putting her hands up to shield her face.

"I said answer him!" the woman screamed, more saliva hitting Bulma, this time in the forehead. And she flinched when she heard the sound of the slap, but she didn't feel anything. So, slowly, she opened one eye and looked… "M-My Lord…" the woman stammered, "I… I… I didn't mean… I didn't…"

"Get out of my sight," Vegeta snarled, and the woman was gone in a flash. Bulma looked up just in time to see a pink hue on Vegeta's cheek disappear as he turned. Thankfully, he'd thrown on a pair of boxers before stepping out into the hall. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he groaned, not looking at her, and Bulma froze. She was more in shock from the simple fact that Vegeta had been struck and no one was dead… But his question pulled her back. It only took her a second to realize…

"My food—"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she shouted, immediately covering her face with her hands. She couldn't believe that she'd actually forgotten. What was even more surprising was the fact that she hadn't eaten anything, either. She'd wound up talking with Chichi and Goku, and she got too into their conversation to even remember that she was starving. "I'll go get it! I'll be right back!"

"I'm going, too," he said, but he turned and headed back for the open door behind him. "Wait for me there."

Bulma just nodded at him and waited outside the open door. When he came back out into the hall, he was fully dressed. She inhaled deeply as he walked by, wondering if she'd smell anything relating to his time with that woman. But she couldn't smell anything. She could barely even smell his usual scent. Her and her goddamn Earthling senses. She followed him all the way back to the kitchens, realizing that she'd never seen him go in here before. This was… strange.

And as he barged in, loudly swinging the doors open, both Chichi and Goku were just as surprised. They turned and froze. But loosened up a little when they saw their friend standing behind him. She waved at Chichi when Vegeta wasn't looking and she smirked back, a silly expression on her face.

"Make me a meal fit for a prince," Vegeta barked. "I want it in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir," Maron said with a grin, dashing over to the refrigerators and swinging open the doors. She stuck her whole head inside as she went searching for… whatever it was she was planning on making.

"And you," Vegeta snarled, pointing at Goku, who pointed back at himself in confusion. "I need to speak with you. Now." He motioned for the spikey-haired Saiyan to walk with him, and Goku followed him out into the hall without hesitation, leaving Bulma and Chichi alone. The black-haired girl cocked her head to one side as she started making a seafood salad.

"What's that all about?"

"I forgot his food," Bulma said, lowering her eyes to the floor. "Speaking of which, I haven't eaten anything in almost two days, and I even forgot about that, too."

"There's a first time for everything," Chichi shrugged. "I was going to mention something when you just left without taking anything, but I thought maybe you were just here to talk… You never forget about your job… Are you letting your feelings get in the way?" she smirked, and Bulma elbowed her in the side. Her friend squealed and turned away, going back to tossing the salad. "I'll make you one, too, you jerk," she laughed, pointing to the seafood mixture.

"Chi… Do you think… Do you think Vegeta is really going to… sit on the throne and watch?"

Chichi frowned. "I don't know."

"That's it?"

She frowned again. "I don't really… know what to say, Bulma. I feel like… it's partially my fault. Maybe if Goku hadn't claimed me, then the king wouldn't have made the new mating rules and… I don't know. It's dumb but I'm really hoping that the prince finds some way to… I don't know…"

"Save me?" Bulma breathed, and Chichi just nodded. "I'm not counting on it."

"I mean… he's the prince of the whole damn planet. What happens if he just says that you're his and no one else is allowed to touch you? Why couldn't that work?"

"I think… he's scared of the king."

"Daddy issues?"

Bulma shook her head. "No, I mean… He thinks that he's not allowed to care about me."

"Maybe he's not…"

Bulma shook her head. That was silly to say, but Chichi hit the nail on the head. He wasn't allowed to care about her… Why hadn't she thought of it like that before? Things were starting to make sense again. He was just reacting like a child doing something that their parent told them not to do—even if that was being a bit under-dramatic, what with death and torture being the repercussions.

"Just look at the bright side," Chichi shrugged, finishing up the plates, "It's like you're in a forbidden romance. It sounds exciting. Like, you can only act like you care about each other in private." She stuck her tongue out and Bulma frowned.

"Yea… maybe if he acted like he cared at all. He treats me like a slave when we're in private. If anything, I'd rather be ignored, like when we're in public."

"Did he treat you like a slave when you gave him a handjob?"

"Chichi," Bulma whispered, shaking her head.

"Well? Did he?"

"… No." Bulma stared at the counter and the plates piling up there. "No, he was… like a different person. He wasn't violent or rude… I've only ever seen him be gentle a handful of times, and that was one of them. I wish he was like that more often…"

"Why don't you tell him?"

"That's not how he is," Bulma laughed, finally looking up. "If I ever asked him to act a certain way, he'd probably do the opposite just to piss me off."

"Well, that's a bit of a different thing to ask… You never know. Give it a try. When have I been wrong about these things?"

Bulma rolled her eyes at her friend just as Goku and Vegeta came back into the kitchens. Vegeta's many plates were lined up on the counter and Bulma's one plate was at the very end of the buffet line. Bulma watched as Vegeta took a seat as he began eating in silence. He didn't even look at anyone or say anything.

Bulma looked over as Goku walked around Chichi, and he was covering up a smile. He whispered something in her ear, and immediately, both sets of eyes turned to her. Bulma lifted an eyebrow when Chichi's face lit up with a small smile and Goku just nodded at her. She mouthed "what" at the two of them, but Vegeta looked up from his large meal and they both dropped their smirks and started walking away, minding-their-own business-like. Bulma just looked after them in confusion.