Chapter Eighteen:

Bulma couldn't stop staring.

The atmosphere was just so different than anything she'd ever experienced before in her life. Even from what little she remembered about Earth, this was nothing like the grassy green fields or the bright blue water. And compared to Planet Vegeta… all she'd ever known was the castle; and before that, she lived in a small house in the mountains with her previous Saiyan lord. She couldn't even remember the last time she saw the sky, since she never left the castle.

But here… everything felt so strange. It wasn't in a bad way, though. It was just… different. The sky was above them, and it was close to the end of the day, considering all the different colors mixing above her. But she couldn't look up at the gorgeous sight for long, otherwise she'd bump into someone.

When they landed, Vegeta had fixed her collar to match this planet's gravity, and then he told her to wait while he got everything sorted out. And so far, it seemed like his plan was going perfectly. A few men had checked their fake ID cards, and they just let them park their space shuttle in a lot, saying they'll keep it there until they wanted to use it again. And then Vegeta had asked another man for directions on how to reach a place where the two of them could stay overnight. They were pointed in this direction, but she wasn't sure where they were going.

Throngs of people walked around them, bumping into her shoulder, walking fast past her and going too slow in front of her. And the buildings around them were huge. When she did manage to look up, it looked like the tops of some of the towers touched the colors in the sky. She wondered if they were taller than the Saiyan castle… This place was huge, and she'd never been surrounded by this many people before. It made her very anxious, to say the least.

She looked forward again and realized that Vegeta was no longer in front of her. She paused and turned around, but a larger woman bumped into her shoulder, spinning her around, and then kept walking without a word. Bulma turned forward again, but another man hit her other side and she spun again, almost losing her balance.

"Vegeta!" she called, her eyes widening, as if the people coming at her was a wild stampede.

But someone grabbed her arm and pulled her past a few people. She knew it was him just from his grip, but he was a little rough and she winced. He yanked her between two people who wouldn't move out of the way, and she crashed past them, hearing them shout some complaints, and slammed right into the Saiyan prince's chest with a gasp.

"Try no to get lost," he said flatly, and she looked up at him, a little disoriented. This place was crazy! When she thought about going out to explore without him, she never imagined it would be like this. If he left her alone now, she wouldn't dare go willingly into this chaos. She would want to hide away in a locked room after seeing this mess.

Vegeta's hand trailed down her arm and he grabbed her wrist as he continued walking past people, shoving them out of the way. Bulma struggled to keep up, but every time she was about to fall forward, he would slow his pace… But when she regained her footing, he would just speed up again. She tried calling out to him, but it was loud all around her, too. And every time she found an opportunity to take a breath, someone would bump into her and knock it out of her again.

Abruptly, Vegeta yanked her by her wrist and she crashed between a few more people, ramming into him again. She was about to yell at him, but when she looked up, the people weren't cluttering around her anymore. She took a deep breath and exhaled. The prince let go of her wrist and she felt where he touched her for a while. A part of her thought about what it would be like to hold his hand…

"Are you coming, or do you want to get lost?" he barked, and she realized that he was holding a door open, motioning for her to go through it. She almost blushed—was he really holding a door for her? She walked under the frame and listened to his footsteps directly behind her, and when she froze again, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a light shove. "Move, woman," he sighed, stepping around her.

They were in a small hallway, and at the end of it was a desk, where a woman sat. Vegeta walked past her and down the hall, and after looking around at the white walls and the red carpeting, she hurried to catch up with him. He was already talking to the woman when she caught up.

"So, four nights, four days," she said, probably repeating what he'd asked for. She looked up and saw Bulma—and her expression changed. "So, you'll be needing two beds, then," she added.

"Just one," Vegeta said, and Bulma blushed and looked away. This seemed… strange. The woman looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment before scowling. Her eyes rested on Bulma, and she looked… pissed. "Is that a problem?" Vegeta asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course not," she said, bowing slightly. "Will you be paying with cash or card?"

"Card."

"I'll take it, please."

Vegeta handed the woman a card from his pocket, and she did something with it behind the counter before giving it back to him and handing him a key. Bulma wondered how the currency worked on this planet. He paid with something, and the woman just gave it back to him? She didn't understand much of what was going on, especially when the woman started glaring at her again, as Vegeta turned and started walking to the left. Bulma hurried after him, seeing a flight of stairs ahead. He walked up a flight and turned, going up the next flight. Just as she turned and walked with him, and there were walls surrounding them on a platform between the flights, he whirled on her. She startled and backed up against the wall, as his hands pressed against the wall to each side of her head.

Her heart raced, and just from the way he moved, she knew to close her eyes before his mouth met hers. Without warning, his tongue moved between her lips and she gasped, trying to keep her voice low.

"Vegeta, there are people—" He kissed her harder and moved forward in one swift motion, pressing his full front against her. She lost her breath, but he didn't break their kiss. She felt his body move like a wave against her, his lower body pushing her hips, and his upper body pressing on her chest. Their stomachs met, flat against each other, somewhere in between. And after a few more moments, she heard his breathing get caught. "What… are you—" Her eyes widened as soon as she felt him, pressing against her, and his lower body continued moving against her. "Vegeta—" she whispered.

"Shh." He moved his head down to her jawline and immediately she felt his hot saliva dripping from her jaw, down her throat. She opened her mouth again to protest, but his lips came up to her ear and his teeth moved along her lobe and auricle, and she shivered at how sensitive it was. She heard his breathing right next to her and her body became just a bit weak. She felt like her legs would start shaking. He exhaled, and as the warm breath covered the side of her face, she lost it, and she dropped.

He chuckled when he caught her, kissing her again. He broke it quickly, though, and looked down at her. "This species has quite an acute sense of smell," he smirked. "Whenever you leave this building, my scent needs to be on you. Understand?" Lips parted, she just nodded her head. So, he was only doing this because… he wanted her to smell like him? "The woman downstairs assumed you weren't my mate because you don't carry my scent, and you walked far behind me… On this planet, sexual partners are commonplace, like carrying around a set of keys… Did I forget to mention that to you?" He smirked again, but she didn't have the strength to be anything other than unsettled. "Stand up, woman." He lifted her and waited for her to straighten out her legs and stand on her own. "Our things should be in the room already."

And then he just let go of her and continued up the stairs. Bulma whirled around in her head for a few moments before daring to take a step. What did he even mean, his scent had to be on her? So, he did all that just to… what? Rub himself all over her? And what good did that even do? And what did he mean about this planet…? What was going on? What did he forget to mention? What…? And god, what was he doing to her? One kiss and her head wouldn't stop spinning… The feel of his body pressed against hers… it still felt like he was on her. She could barely walk up the stairs.

But he was too far ahead no to notice her struggling, and when she reached the floor he stopped on, she saw him down the hall, opening a door on the right. He left it open, and after half a minute, she turned and followed him inside.

"Close the door," he said, and her jaw almost dropped. The room wasn't nearly as big as the prince's chambers back home. Instead, it was just a small room with a large bed in the middle. There was a garderobe to her right, but it looked strange compared to the ones back on Planet Vegeta. And there was a large window, with thick curtains blocking all light from getting inside. She slowly turned and closed the door, not taking her eyes off the bed.

"Is… Is this it?" she asked. This wasn't a room fit for a prince at all. This was… a bedroom with a toilet and shower attached at the side. And the bed… she wasn't assuming that it would be the size of the prince's, but… it didn't look like it was made for two people… She was going to end up pressed against him, unless she decided to sleep on the floor. At least, back home, she had the option to move away from him and still be under the covers. But here…

"I told you it would be inferior," he said, taking off his shirt. "What are you so surprised about?"

"I'm… not… but… why are you… taking off… your…" She closed her mouth. She could barely form words. She had to be in this tight space with the prince for four days… and four nights? How was that even possible? And how was she supposed to do her job? She didn't know where the sheets were, or where they kept their cleaning products, or… anything.

"You're going to need to change," he said. "I had our scouts prepare a few things while they were here, so they picked up some casual clothing and other things we might need. We stand out too much in these clothes."

He sat down on the edge of the small bed and removed his pants. He wasn't wearing anything underneath and Bulma gasped, turning her head away in embarrassment. Why was he getting completely naked in front of her now? Wasn't the kiss on the stairway enough? She didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking, though. And out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stand and grab one of the bags on the floor. She recognized one of them as the one she brought from Planet Vegeta. And as he turned and knelt down to pick up a pile of clothes, she quickly glanced at his naked back.

"I can hear your heartbeat," he whispered, and she immediately looked away. She heard him step closer to her and throw something on the bed. "Take your clothes off."

"W-What?" she stammered, squeezing her eyes shut so she couldn't see anything.

"People can tell we're not from around here. We need to blend in," he spoke, but he sounded so close to her. Why couldn't he put clothes on first? "And I'm going out tonight to work. If you want to come, you have to change."

"I'll change over there," she said quickly, pointing to the strange shower area. At least there was a door she could close and lock to get away from him.

The prince sighed. "Stop getting embarrassed, woman. It's very inconvenient."

"Inconve—"

"You have nothing to be embarrassed of."

Bulma flushed, and she couldn't stop herself from opening her eyes and staring into his onyx orbs. He stared back, his eyes slightly narrowed, but he'd just said something… kind of sweet. And she blinked a few times, just staring at him.

"Take off your shirt," he commanded, and she lost whatever feeling she had. "And your pants. You'll put these on." He pointed to the pile of clothes he'd thrown on the bed before and she glanced down at them to her left. She exhaled and looked to the wall, afraid that she would catch another glimpse of him in her peripheral vision.

She gulped and reached for the hem of her shirt, but her hands paused there. Why was he making her do this? She closed her eyes and slowly, uncomfortably, pulled it off over her head. She was wearing a plain bra, and she couldn't help but open her eyes just enough to look down at herself. And she did look very plain. Her skin wasn't anything to gawk at. Her stomach wasn't perfectly flat or anything. She'd seen the model-like women that Vegeta spent his nights with. And she knew she didn't compare to anything like that. If anything, her only good point was that her breasts were a decent size. But still, not as big as Vegeta seemed to like…

"Why… aren't you getting dressed?" she asked, continuing to look away.

"The scent I put on you before," he replied bluntly, "I put in on your clothes. It'll be more efficient if it's on your skin. You're just taking it off now, but if you want to go with me tonight, I need to mark you again."

Bulma's eyes slowly lifted to his face and she gulped again. She was standing there… shirtless. But he wasn't staring at her chest. He was looking back at her. He was… waiting.

"So, before… you just did that to… mark me?" she asked.

"You're trying to imply that I didn't want to?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. He paused before answering. "I enjoyed it." Then he smirked. "I also knew you'd have to change as soon as we got in here."

She knew her face must have turned beat-red from the way she felt heat coming off her forehead and ears. And in the next second, Vegeta knocked the pile of clothes off the bed, grabbed her, and threw her down on top of the light green sheets. She yelped as he crawled on top of her.

"Can't I just—wear your shirt or something?"

"I don't mark you with my natural scent, woman," he purred, his face above hers. "There's a specific scent that males give off when they're turned on."

"So…" she trailed off, raising her arms to cover her flushed face.

"So…" he mocked, smirking at her. He grabbed her arms and slowly pushed them out of the way. Her eyes were lidded and she couldn't think. "Turn me on."

"Vegeta," she breathed, and she let her eyes wander down between the small space between them, and she looked at him. "But… you're already…"

He chuckled. "You're no fun." And then he leaned down and met her mouth with his again, this time a lot gentler than in the stairway. He rested his elbows on either side of her head and his one hand entangled in her hair, sprayed out on the pillow under her. He softly scraped his nails along her scalp and she shivered, taking in a quick breath through his lips. And when hers parted, his tongue lightly brushed its way inside her. She kissed him back and found herself doing things she'd never thought of doing before.

She lightly bit down on his tongue and sucked it into her mouth, letting out an involuntary moan as she sucked. And she let her hands come up and run over his chest. He made a noise when her nail hit something hard and she opened her eyes for a moment, breaking their kiss. She looked down at his chest—he was still holding himself up above her—and his eyes followed hers. She brushed her fingers over his side and stalled for what she wanted. That noise… it made the butterflies go crazy. She slowly curled her fingers and scratched up his sides and around to his collarbone. She trailed her nails down the sides of his arms and back up, until she focused on what she'd hit before. She looked at his face—he was still watching her hands—and gently ran a nail over the small, red peak.

He made that sound again, making her lower stomach flutter. It was a groan, almost quiet, and cut short when he ground his teeth together. And as she ran her fingers over the peak again, his body shivered, and he looked away. She stared at his face and watched as her fingers kept running over his sensitive spots, and each time he shivered and his expression changed. His lips started to part and his breathing was staggered. He would squeeze his eyes shut and then they would lid. But he wouldn't look back at her. He kept his eyes off to the right, and she could've swore his face was getting redder.

She didn't know when she started panting, but her breath got caught in her throat. She'd never seen him make these faces before, not even with her. And last time she'd done anything like this with him, it had been too dark to see anything other than shadows. She found herself wishing she could have seen his expressions then, too.

She curled her fingers again and pinched his nipple between two of her nails and, feeling bold, she pinched hard. Vegeta immediately made a noise that sounded like he was choking and his head dropped over her shoulder, his forehead resting on the pillow beside her, his face in her hair. She listened to his harsh breathing as she bit her lip, going back to gently padding him with the pad of her pointer finger.

Something warm suddenly dripped onto her lower stomach and she pursed her lips, still catching her breath from the sounds he made right next to her ear. She knew what that was…

"Vegeta…" she breathed. "Why… Why are you letting me do this?" She paused, letting her fingers trail up and down his arms and his sides again. His breathing slowly went back to normal, but he didn't lift his head. "I don't mean to say… that I watch you… but, when you're with other women… you don't let them kiss you. You don't let them… touch you however they want… So, why am I—"

Immediately, he was off of her, and picking the clothes up from the floor. She watched him toss a shirt and a pair of pants at her and she quickly sat up and grabbed them.

"That should be good enough," he said, his voice raspy. "I don't think anyone will bother you tonight." Again, he wasn't looking at her. She watched him pull up a pair of pants and adjust himself. He was still hard, and probably worse off than when they started. He gritted his teeth again and pulled the fabric around one more time before throwing on the shirt—which was a style she'd never seen before. It exposed his shoulders, and she couldn't help but feel that it didn't suit him. Neither did the excessive bulge at the front of his pants.

"Are you… going to be okay… going out like that?"

"I'm sure someone will take care of it for me."

"Oh…" She smiled down at herself, sadly. This was one of their walls. This was one of the problems she would have to face, and deal with, however she could. Even though they had whatever this relationship was, he was still going to have other women around him. And even here, where it was supposed to be just the two of them… She jumped when one cold tear dripped down her face and onto her arm in front of her.

"I have to work," he said, and his face was right in front of her in the next second. His palms spread out to either side of her and he leaned forward. He kissed her, but both their eyes stayed fixed on the others. "I don't have time to find someone to care of it." He kissed her again, and she let herself feel like it was an apology, that time. "We need to go." But he didn't lean away from her.

"Why… would you have to find someone?" she asked, her lips trembling at her own words.

"Just let me know when you're ready and I won't have to," he whispered, his warm breath in her face. She gulped as he placed his open palm on her lower stomach, and smeared his liquid up her stomach with a smirk.

She wanted to tell him that what he said about finding another woman was only relevant when they got back to the castle, but Goku's words stopped her. She was supposed to be living in the moment, and not bringing up anything about Planet Vegeta while they were here. And it seemed better this way, so she just nodded. Maybe she could even convince herself for four days that she could be the only one he wanted.

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The crowds were just as bad at night, and Vegeta ended up taking her to some kind of terrible place. He'd said that he wanted to get the bad part of the job over with on the first night, but she didn't know what that meant. All she knew was that she didn't feel safe here, so she made sure to stay extra close to the prince, occasionally holding onto the back of his shirt like some lost child. He never pushed her away, though.

The tall buildings were always on either side of her, making it impossible to see anything, and impossible to run anywhere, if she needed to. No one knew that Vegeta was a Saiyan, and she was extremely grateful for his warrior's strength and speed, for once. She knew he could fight off an army of these people. Actually, she felt like he could probably kill everyone living on this planet in the four days that they were here. And although that was awful, she felt a little safer having him around.

But he wasn't holding onto her wrist, like before, and it sometimes seemed like he was ignoring her as he talked to people on the streets and intimidated some others—she didn't want to get left behind. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten into any fights… so far. She took it as a good sign. She knew to watch herself, though. Being weak, even compared to this planet's people, she could easily get hurt while Vegeta's back was turned. So, she hid in his shadow and didn't look around too much. And she only grabbed his shirt when she needed to. She felt like she could easily get in his way here.

On the other hand, this was hardly what she thought she'd be doing when she told Vegeta that she wanted to go out with him while he worked. These weren't the experiences she wanted to have. But, hopes high, she figured this was the worst of it, and later would be more exciting and less… threatening. But she was starting to understand what he'd meant before about sexual partners being like holding keys here. She didn't notice it before, probably because she wasn't really looking at what the crowds had been doing, but everyone was…

Simply put, no one was alone on the streets. Every man had a woman hanging on him… Well, to be honest, every woman had men hanging on them. It seemed like the females here were dominant to the males. She even saw a couple getting kicked around down an alley. But in other cases, women chased men, too. It was a strange environment, to say the least.

"Watch it," Vegeta growled, grabbing her and pulling her closer to him. She jumped and looked forward, realizing that she'd been about to walk into a couple against a wall, tongues down each other's throats. The man sounded like he couldn't breathe, and the woman was laughing. Bulma stared at them until she had to look forward, or else she'd fall. The sight of them made her face heat up and she glanced at the back of Vegeta's head, as she fell back in step behind him.

His words echoed in her head—when you're ready… I won't have to—and she couldn't stop thinking about them. It wasn't that the prince wasn't attractive—that was obviously the least of his worries. But when she was ready… that was a whole other topic. But for some reason, she felt bad about it all. She started living in his room, sleeping in his bed, and then… she got to touch him. She was allowed to get close to him like no one else could, and of course it made her feel special, but…

Giving herself to Vegeta, in that way, was different. And a part of her wondered if she'd ever be ready for that. Kissing him… touching him… being like that was special to her, because she knew that he cared for her from the simple fact that he allowed those things to happen. And she enjoyed making him happy, and learning and experimenting with him… with his body. She never would've dreamed that she could make a man feel good—much less the prince—because she never knew how. And having him there and happy to have her was… she loved it. She loved him.

But him giving himself to her like that was one thing. Her giving herself to him was different. She'd never been with a man, while Vegeta spent his life being with probably thousands of women. In a sense, he wasn't giving her anything precious if he slept with her. He was just looking for another good time, whether he cared for her or not. And Bulma always thought that one day she would give herself to a man that she would be with forever…

And that was the other problem—and the reason why she wasn't sure she could ever be with him the way he really wanted. She knew that her and Vegeta would never be forever. If she gave her body to him, it would be for one night. Maybe she would get lucky and it would even turn out to be for a few years, but he would never truly be hers. He would always be giving himself to other people. And she couldn't be like that. She couldn't… sleep with Vegeta, and then have Yamcha's children, and then sleep with another man, and then find someone she truly loved and be with him instead. That wasn't her. Because then what was all of this for? She couldn't just give herself to men the way Vegeta gave himself to women…

She looked up at the back of his head again, wondering what he was thinking—wondering what he would say if she tried to tell him about how she felt. She wanted to believe that he would give her some good news, or say something that would make her heart skip a beat… but there was nothing he could say. And he already told her—it changes nothing. She knew that now. She just found herself wishing it wasn't true. And wishing that one day, she could be ready—and maybe he wouldn't have to.

His back was still to her, and finally he neared a man who looked like he'd been waiting for a while.

The man said some kind of greeting and Bulma finally got to pause behind the prince. She stood close to his back and took the opportunity to look around more. It just seemed like everyone was making out around here. It must not have been that obvious earlier in the day, but she did remember how she had to crash into people and come between people in order to get to the place they were staying for four days. She just hadn't realized that she'd been stepping between couples… or mates… or whatever they called themselves here.

No one was looking at her. She let her eyes wander from make-out session to what looked like a full-on orgy down another street. And then her eyes dropped to a thin male, who was walking alone. She waited a few moments, waiting for someone to run up to him or something, but he stayed alone as he walked. And then he started looking around, as well. And before Bulma could look away, their eyes met and the man paused. He smiled and slowly lifted a hand to wave at her. Bulma just stared and slowly waved back. But then he turned and started walking towards her. Bulma jumped.

"…was a tragic accident, but he's the stand-in like him for the time being. The royal family is pissed, of course, but what can they do?"

Bulma immediately grabbed the back of Vegeta's shirt with her fist and pressed herself against his back. She didn't even feel him flinch, much less react. And although the man slowed when he saw her grab the prince, Vegeta's lack of reaction wasn't helping, so the man kept coming.

"How long has he been in charge?" Vegeta asked the man.

"Over two weeks now… It's not permanent. He made that very clear. Everyone says he's just trying to help but they're brainwashed somehow. I know he's—"

"—Ve—"

The prince cut both of them off just as the man was in arm's length, reaching out to grab Bulma, and Vegeta turned to his side, lifting his arm around her and pulling her into him. The thin man immediately froze and stood there, watching her. She couldn't tear her eyes from him. Although he didn't seem to have a bad aura, the thought of him reaching her just now terrified her. And she continued to stare, wide-eyed, at the man.

"How did he even get the position? If the royal family isn't happy with the decision, why didn't they just choose someone else?" Vegeta suddenly tilted his head and put his lips to Bulma's hair, nuzzling her for a moment. The man he was speaking to didn't seem to care, but the thin man staring at them scowled and turned, finally walking away.

"When the king died, he left no heirs, and his wife passed years ago. That means it was up to the people to decide who holds the throne, until a more concrete decision has been made. What I want to know is how he was chosen, when no one even knew who he was until the king's death. He must have been pretty well-known, but no one around here even knew his name until he just appeared one day."

"What's his name?" Vegeta asked.

The man took a look in each direction a few times before lowering his eyes, like Vegeta was asking him for a shady favor. The man looked at Bulma for the first time and stared at her for a moment before looking back to Vegeta.

"She's with you?" the man asked, and his voice was significantly lower than before. Vegeta nodded and she watched the man's Adam's apple move as he swallowed. "Nobody says his name around here, you know. Some say it's bad luck. Others say he can hear you when you say it, and he starts to hunt you down…"

"What's his name?" Vegeta asked again, his voice a little more threatening. The man gulped and took another couple of looks around before lowering his head and looking up at them.

"Broly," the man whispered. "His name's Broly."