AN: This chapter was a big step for me in terms of worldbuilding, and I had a ton of fun with it. I grabbed reference sheets from old DBZ articles in magazines, some stuff from the video games (including DBZ: Kakarot) and all sorts of things. You'll also notice that I touch a bit more on the changes that I made to certain characters' ages as well as critical events in the canon story. I hope it shows! Enjoy the chapter, and stay cool!
Chapter Ten - Amity
Conflicted, exhausted and distraught, Rosemary sat far away from the crowd and took refuge under a cluster of trees to reflect as everyone waited to be picked up and taken to Bulma's home.
The day was shaping out to be absolutely miserable. After everything they just went through on Namek, everything from being saved from torture or death to fighting for their lives together, Vegeta suddenly wanted to go separate ways. Did she follow him around out of loyalty for nothing? She questioned what had gotten into him to make such a decision, but if he truly wanted to push her away, she had to follow through for the sake of obedience. One thing she knew for sure, though, out of everything she'd felt about the situation so far, anger was the last thing she expected to have to put up with, and yet, she found herself fuming and flustered over the prince.
It had been a long time since she found herself angry with Vegeta, and she didn't enjoy it in the slightest - it was the horribly perfect concoction of guilt and defeat, spiked with a tantalizing temptation to be defiant.
For a moment, to her own surprise, she found herself thinking about what life would have been like if she'd went back to her usual day to day in captivity. She'd probably be locked in Zarbon's room, boredly awaiting his return in hope that she would get a change in scenery, or be summoned to the labs for documentation on some random torture encounter they would put her through in order to achieve some kind of revolutionary behavioural change. Perhaps she should have taken the wicked general's hand after all - considering him as a partner didn't seem like such a bad idea after the fact. He gave her attention, affection, and unparalleled admiration, while against her will, it was still something.
Oh, how she thirsted for the reality of being loved and needed. The longer she gave it thought, the more her heart grew heavy and sore.
She bowed her head in shame.
'What the hell am I thinking?!' she yelled at herself in disgust, flustered and confused. 'Am I seriously dwelling on such a thing?!'
She threw her head up to the sky in hope to clear her mind and sidetrack her thoughts. Reluctantly, she continued to brood over Vegeta once again.
'I can't deny that I've been longing for this day to come for years.' She let out a sad sigh as her gaze got lost in the clear, blue sky above. Looking up at it in it's bright splendor made her even more of a daze, yet she couldn't bring herself look away. 'The sheer fantasy of being free, with him once again was nothing more than a pipe dream… Everything I once thought and felt, it's all coming back to me and more, only to be thwarted by the prince himself? Do I still want this?'
She didn't know what to expect going forward - she had a home, a good start for sure, but was she expected to do anything in return? Would she like where she lived? Would she be able to function like she used to; be able to cook, clean and go about her day to day as casually as she once did? Would she be alright, living on her own? Everything ahead of her was a giant question mark, she had no idea where to begin to process it all.
A soft, humming noise gradually slid it's way into the area. In the middle of the field, Bulma began skipping around with glee, cheerfully shouting out to the open air around her.
"Alright, my dad's here! Woo, we're going home!"
A giant mustard yellow aircraft touched down in an open area of the field that everyone had been taking comfort in, it's strong propulsion working up the surrounding trees in the area.
The aircraft's back door slowly opened with a droning hum.
Rosemary turned her head to acknowledge it, unbothered.
The first thing to emerge was a slender black-haired woman, zooming down the exit ramp and started looking around in a frenzy.
"Gohan!" She fiendishly shrieked into the open air. "I know you're here! Come out!"
As if expected, Gohan had already taken to hiding behind a thicker tree stump in hopes that he wouldn't be found. To his inconvenience, the woman had already been thoroughly searching the area, creeping up on him with a heavy sigh.
"Ugh, there you are!" She whined. "Are you hurt? Sick? Sleepy? Anything?"
Gohan stepped out into the open, his head lowered in defeat.
"No, mom, I'm fine." He groaned. "All these Namekians are nice, everything is fine. Oh, we met someone else, too, she's taken really good care of us."
"You brought home a girl?!" Chi-Chi screeched. "You're six years old, girls can wait another ten years!"
The woman's shrill voice was enough to put Rosemary on guard from where she sat. She wasn't sure if she should be worried or happy that Gohan had pointed her out to this boiling mess of a person, but her nerves were certainly on high alert now.
"No, mom, it's not like that!" Gohan defended immediately. "She's a bit older than me, uh, I think?" His tone perked up in thought. How old was Rosemary, anyway? He'd never bothered to ask.
"Anyway, we met her on Namek, she's a really skilled nurse!" he tilted his head to look over towards her, immediately locking eyes with an expectant stare back. "Hey, Rosemary, come over! There's someone I want you to meet!"
Rosemary blinked hard. She hoped that he had good intentions, giving her more of a spotlight than she'd wanted at that moment. All she wanted to do was sulk and simmer in her own pity, heaven forbid she took some time for herself, it seemed.
It was, however, impolite to ignore an obvious request for her attention.
Begrudgingly, she got up from where she stood and blipped over to where they were in a flash, making the both of them to briefly flinch.
"You… summoned me?" Rosemary responded half-heartedly, then froze. It had been a while since she'd used such a phrase and immediately questioned if she should have - her etiquette was beginning to get sloppy, certain mannerisms were supposed to be reserved for royalty.
After taking a moment to gather herself, Chi-Chi took a step forward, following up with a scan of Rosemary's face and hair.
She looked fairly normal, for an alien.
Mortified, Rosemary stood torturously stiff as this stranger gave her agloweringlook over.
"Yeah!" Gohan cheered, hoping to ease her a little. "Hey, it's okay, Rosemary, this is my mom! I thought you should meet her since you're gonna be around a lot more now!"
Still petrified, Rosemary looked down to Gohan, then back to Chichi in acknowledgement. Indeed, there was a resemblance between the two of them - he had her eyes, completely black but harmless and tender. The woman's hair had been as black as night as well, perhaps Gohan's black hair resembled his mother's more than Goku's Saiyan style now that she took the time to think about it. Her clothes were unlike anything she had encountered, brightly coloured orange and purple robes of a thick texture similar to Goku's gi, but they had noticeable slits in the ankle-length skirt to allow her legs to roam free as they pleased. Was this woman a known fighter, too, or was this simply a native style here?
She followed up with a polite bow, surprising the woman enough to relieve her of the deadly, protective scowl she'd been wearing.
"I-I see." she delicately responded. "It's noticeable, actually... It is a pleasure, um-"
"Chi-Chi." Gohan's mother sweetly chirped back.
Chi-Chi kneeled down to rustle Gohan's hair with a deceptively beaming smile.
"Now then, Gohan, let's get a move on, you've got yourself a nice heap of studying to do when you get back."
Baffled, Rosemary stood among them with an awkward silence. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but a switch was flipped somewhere along the conversation.
She hoped that most people weren't as tricky and confusing as Chi-Chi.
And if they were, this was going to be a long day.
. . .
After a restless and noisy flight, as if to test Rosemary's patience, everyone finally stepped off the aircraft with hesitant, slow strides. Walking back into the light of day, the Namekians had heads in all directions to curiously consume every inch of their new surroundings. In front of them was an enormous yellow dome-shaped structure, along with dozens of other smaller, similarly built huts as if to accompany it. The beginning and end of the property were unable to be spotted in plain view - Bulma was right, this place was huge.
Rosemary couldn't help but ponder the architecture, it resembled nothing of what she'd seen in books and designs she had managed to get her hands on - there were less straight lines in the area than she could count on one hand. Dome shaped buildings meant that water would run freely off of them without the need for additional floodgating, an excellent idea if she said so herself. The windows were single, horizontal slats that ran along the sides of the buildings in long strips, even those were ever so gently curved and slightly indented to keep from rain and dirt building up where it was undesired. The way the ground was shaped, a miniscule and artificially layed tilt downwards, seemed to support her thoughts further. Whoever designed the property had put a great deal of thought into it, no doubt.
'People live here?' she thought to herself in wonder. 'Such interesting engineering…'
An old man with a frazzled and faded grey bowlcut in an aged lab coat stepped out in front of the crowd and lit up a cigarette.
"Alright folks, we've, uh, reached our destination." he awkwardly began with a small adjustment to his thick black glasses, making sure to give everyone in the crowd the same amount of attention to avoid being out of line. "Hey, Bulma, er, how do you want to do this-"
"Actually, Dad," Bulma quickly intercepted. "I was wondering if you could show all the Namekians around the compound, I'm gonna show off the apartment like we talked about."
Dr. Briefs gave a few hard blinks while a few Namekians turned to look at each other out of confusion and curiosity. He did recall her mentioning a thing or two about it on the phone, and gave her a slight nod.
"Er, y-yes, right." He said after a short pause, digging through the left pocket of his coat. He pulled out a white card and handed it to her. "I assume you know what you're doing."
Taking the card and shoving it in one of the pockets of her roughed up yellow jacket, Bulma gently took Rosemary by the wrist and led her away from the crowd, catching a few eyes from a few people that were quickly dismissed.
"Hey," she said in a hushed but warm tone. "I wanted to make sure that we got you settled in comfortably, so it's just you and me for now. I wanted to give you something special for being so amazing back on Namek."
Rosemary couldn't bring herself to look at Bulma in the eye, her skin grew warm to the touch out of flattery.
'Amazing is hardly something I've lived up to be…' she mulled over in a stir.
Coming back to the reality in front of her, her conscience quickly insisted that she should probably say something in response.
"S-Sure… Thank you, Bulma." She caught herself promptly.
"Hey, no worries." Bulma replied in a motherly tone. "I can tell that your brain is running a marathon after everything that's happened today, I think it's important that you have a place to properly call your own, and maybe you can finally catch some sleep."
"Before you do," a sharp yet unmistakable voice joined them, taking them both by surprise.
The two of them whipped around at the sound, to find none other than the Saiyan Prince standing mere feet away from them, looking Rosemary dead in the eye.
"I want a word with you."
Rosemary narrowed her eyes on him suspiciously in silence, causing him to harden his stare on her further.
Vegeta furrowed his brows.
"Well?" he pressured further.
Slightly annoyed, Rosemary tossed a hand out to him, a clear, unamused frown on her face.
"Lead the way, my prince." Rosemary finally replied in a dulled, sarcastic tone.
After a short period of seething from her sudden attitude, Vegeta led the two of them aside to a shaded area near some small home-like buildings in a haste, a sprawl of trees hiding them from sight.
Rosemary wasn't looking forward to what came next - what else could he possibly have to say after smashing her will to carry on to pieces?
She uttered a pained sigh.
"You summoned me, my prince?"
The words had a nostalgic but strangely pleasurable ring to his ears.
Vegeta coolly leaned up against a tree, arms folded and head bowed. He felt ridiculous, knowing he was about to have some kind of loaded conversation, and yet, he yearned for her time. The way she had been looking at him for the past hour with firm, muted stares, it felt so wrong and unlike her - he needed to fix it before it drove him mad. Having a proper moment, alone with her without a need to fight for survival, was surprisingly refreshing, among other things.
"You're thinking about this all wrong."
Rosemary's eyes widened for a moment, only to form a cross expression immediately after. He was clearly cutting to the chase with this, the concept of serious conversation was far out of his element and it was evident the minute he asked for it.
There was no turning back now.
"Explain." She sharply snapped back.
Vegeta chuckled. As if Rosemary could ever scare him, what a joke. And yet, he was stiff and hesitant to speak - her eyes had been hardened on him in a way he couldn't decipher. Was she actually mad at him or just severely uncomfortable?
"You're no threat to me, don't waste your effort. Anger doesn't look good on you."
As if by command, Rosemary closed her eyes, slightly bowed her head, and let out a heavy sigh. In a way, he was right, she couldn't hold a grudge on him even if she tried. Maybe just this once, she could give him an inch.
"Can you truly blame me for my frustration?" She whined. "I have waited so long to finally resume my post, do you know that?!"
Vegeta cocked an eyebrow.
"To resume your post, or to simply reunite with me again?" he questioned provocatively with an attentive but intense frown.
Rosemary paled, her mouth gently hanging open before she began to think it through.
Go figure, he could read her like an open book, as always.
"W-Well, o-one would imply the other…" She stammered on, stunned. "So I suppose the answer to that, is yes."
Her hands curled into fists at her side. Of all times to tease, this was not the time, but deep down she knew that the prince was far more to her than just her job, she had to at least consider the possibility that he'd managed to put it together on his own.
And she hoped he hadn't. What a predicament that would be.
"...And you just want to leave me behind like I'm no longer of use to you! It hurts, you know! Our friendship aside, it is my duty to look out for you! You know as well as I that it is all I have ever known."
His mildly irked expression turned into a far more gritted scowl.
"You make it sound as if this is something that doesn't affect me as well!" Vegeta retaliated with a forceful growl, causing Rosemary to cower a few steps back. "These stupid emotions and feelings, I hate them, yet a part of me insists that I justify my actions to you, it's agonizing. Understand that I'm not one for this pettychatter as of late, but this isn't exactly something I desire, either."
A lump formed in his throat and he pouted with a grimace. Why was it so damn hard to talk?
"Listen well, I'm only going to say this once. I'm aware of what I'm doing. It's tearing at every fiber of my being and I absolutely hate it because nothing has put me in such a position in… agh, forever. However, we both need time and space, to-"
His tongue managed to catch itself on every syllable he uttered. Gods, he sounded like such a fool.
"...Adjust to whatever lies ahead. I needthis. You need this. For the first time in my life, I have no home, no mission, no... purpose. I need time to think, alone. You cannot tell me that you shouldn't be doing the same."
Rosemary's eyes drifted away from him in thought. The concept of leaving him alone to his thoughts bred fear in her mind... It sat atop of the list of things she supposed to prevent happening at all costs - his temper was his true downfall, and among everything else, it was dangerous and destructive.
But, to her unfortunate defeat, he was probably right about that as well. Imagine, the prince talking sense into her.
"Look, I hate saying crap like this, but I don't wish for such hardship on you. Whether you like it or not, you're so damn pure. You can't handle it, and quite simply, you don't deserve it. You have a new home waiting, your own space for the first time in what we know to be an eternity. Imagine, you can read all the books and sip away at as much tea as you'd like. If you can't find it within yourself to find a reason to, do it for my sake - worrying about you is not on my agenda as of late."
As he finished, Rosemary teared up once again and glazed her attention over the trees behind him. As much as she was hurting, as much as her heart ached at the very thought of being alone once again, she could tell that Vegeta was weak as well - such moments where he admitted his exposures were few and far between, and the moments where he was visibly worked up in something other than frustration were just as rare. Up until now, admittedly, she hadn't really considered his side of things, there was simply too much happening. Being on Namek threw everything she thought she had known about the man into a whirlwind of confusion. Thinking back on it further now, perhaps she was being overly selfish.
For now, she could only appreciate that he pulled her aside to share in his vulnerability, and in doing so, she was reassured that he indeed cared about her in some way, shape, or form.
"I understand." she spoke out gently. "It won't be forever. At first, I wasn't so sure."
Vegeta let out a deep, relieved exhale. At last, after tormenting himself with petty emotional self assessment, she had finally been calmed.
He managed a small smirk. "It won't. I may be vain, but you've more than earned my amity."
The way he smiled just then was enough to make her feel like she was melting, and while only a little, she knew he'd meant it and every word he spoke. It wouldn't cure her of the loneliness and depression she was likely to face ahead, but it put her at enough ease to get her through the moment.
Her lips quivered as her eyes went on to form steady wells of tears, but this time, she could bring herself to smile.
To Vegeta's surprise, before he knew it, he was being tightly embraced by her in a flash - apparently, her speed was getting difficult to keep track of.
"What are you-?!" He irritably grunted, now awkwardly outstretching his arms out to his sides.
Something wet crept onto his shoulder. Taking a moment to listen in on staggered breaths, he loosened his arms and lowered them back down to his sides, uninterested in such a public display. He thought he'd been strong enough to tolerate her fragile spirit... As the number of times he'd reduced her to tears went up, the more difficult it proved to be to overcome - she was so close to him, the very sound of her weak cry left him a pitiful, loathingly sensitive wreck.
"I won't make you dwell on this much longer, I should be going, but…" Rosemary sobbed, her chin resting on a thick, brawny shoulder. "Could you at least visit once in a while?"
Indifferent, Vegeta looked down at her classically messy, pointed locks of hair as she perched on him, awaiting a response. Interestingly, her hair had grown even longer since their teenage years - it went all the way down to her thighs instead of the familiar length that peaked just above her waist. It had smoothed out more than remembered, perhaps it had grown thicker and heavier over the years - it tempted him to run his fingers through it to examine it further, but resisted to avoid a knowingly stern but harmless scolding.
He was getting caught up in things he couldn't afford to dwindle on at the moment.
"We'll see."
Rosemary chuckled and withdrew from him quickly, giving him a mischievous smirk and a firm look in the eye.
"It's either that or I may have to eventually try and find you."
Odd, as menacing as it sounded, the taunt had left a peculiar taste of satisfaction in her mouth.
"Once I master this ability to sense energy, paired with my speed, just imagine how quick I could pull it off... I hardly know what I'm capable of anymore."
Vegeta grimaced. His chest grew breathtakingly warm, as if his blood spiked a few degrees at the thought of a challenge. This particular side of her personality was going to be dangerous, he liked these cocky spurts of playful rebellion far too much. The last thing he needed, however, was for her to be some place he couldn't find her on the off-chance that he wanted her around after all.
"Fine." Vegeta tastelessly scorned. "Just know that I don't take nicely to threats, even from you."
Rosemary giggled. "I know all too well."
She finally turned away from him to head back to Bulma and looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes one last time. "For now, I suppose this is farewell."
"Don't die before I return." Vegeta remarked blandly.
With a final snicker, Rosemary promptly leapt away in a single, clean movement. 'I guess that's his current way of wishing someone good luck,' she humorously thought to herself.
And with that, Vegeta found himself alone.
Appearing in front of Bulma a split second later with a smooth slide in from the side, Rosemary politely bowed to her.
"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting..." Rosemary pleaded quickly. "I should be completely available now. Please, continue with what you were going to show me."
Bulma snorted before she went on with a gentle burst of laughter.
"Gosh, you're so polite, Rosemary... You could probably tone it down a notch or two!" She cheekily nudged Rosemary's side with an elbow. "That little chat seemed like it did something, at least."
She gave Rosemary a wink as well.
"That hug was kinda cute, too."
Mortified, Rosemary tensed and shot up straight on the spot. She hadn't expected anyone to be watching the exchange with Vegeta, were the two of them really that exciting?
Her face turned every shade of pink imaginable as Bulma reluctantly winced out of guilt, her face now flushed with a final but humiliated, blotchy red hue.
"Hey, I was trying to lighten the mood!" She rushed in, somewhat remorseful. "I just kinda assumed it went well if Vegeta let you do that."
Rosemary took a few quick, small breaths to calm down. It wasn't worth getting hung up on at the moment, but she would absolutely have the moment replaying in her mind for quite some time later.
"I-It did, I suppose." She managed to respond. "But, it doesn't change the circumstances. This is, quite honestly, going against everything I've grown to accept."
Bulma put a hand over Rosemary's shoulder, leading the two of them into the giant dome that sat in the center of the compound.
"I know it's gonna take a while to get used to and this isn't your usual scenery, but I think that you're going to like it here!" Bulma tried to nudge her further. "And to start, I'm going to show you your new apartment!"
The two of them walked briefly through the main lobby of Capsule Corporation, taking a moment to pause in front of an exhibition of sorts. A large portion of the lobby was dedicated to an island of grass that had been surrounded by crystal clear water and a guard rail to isolate it, accompanied by a variety of animals, small and large, inhabiting the area peacefully.
Fascinated, Rosemary took a step towards it and leaned on the rail in wonder. How was it possible to create such a sustainable home for so many creatures in an enclosed, secluded space? Certainly, the various species had conflicting needs… And yet, all of the scaly critters and larger, fluffy mammals seemed to be fine with roaming among each other, as if they had been domesticated to live in harmony despite the food chains and predation that typically came with it.
She quickly looked up at the ceiling, to find that just like the exterior of the building, it was dome shaped. Despite her previous assumption that this was the main building given it's position on the property, the building itself must not have served much of a purpose if the very room they were standing in reached all the way up to the top of the structure - or perhaps it was just a deceptive design for the sake of aesthetic.
Bulma watched as Rosemary took everything in with such an innocent curiosity. It was like watching a child look at fireworks for the first time, or perhaps the first glance of a giant, bulk candy store.
A wide smile from cheek to cheek, she giggled. This Saiyan woman had such a genuine interest in learning and discovery, compared to Vegeta, who just wanted to destroy and kill everything, Rosemary's docile nature was quite the curveball...
Being the world-renowned scientist that she was, she could already tell that the two of them were going to hit off well, and maybe even become coworkers down the line.
"Well, it looks like you've already found something to cheer you up a little!" She called over to Rosemary in a cheery tone.
Rosemary looked back to her from over her shoulder.
"It's… not something I see every day is all." She responded with some residual gloom and sadness from earlier. "It's strange but fascinating, I'm used to animals fighting and eating each other to survive, everything was so ravenous on Vegeta-sei..."
Bulma jerked her head off to the right to gesture Rosemary to follow.
"Come on, we haven't even gotten to your place yet!" Bulma teased. "You get to look at the animals and stuff every day if you want to, but I want you to get comfy and cleaned up!"
Rosemary gave Bulma a few blinks, then scurried back over so Bulma could lead her onwards. The thought of a hot shower coming soon did sound lovely.
"R-Right…"
Bulma sighed. It was definitely going to take some effort to loosen this girl up.
"Man, you're really shy and formal, huh." She continued to make conversation, leading her through a short hallway that stopped in front of a smaller lobby for an elevator. Pressing a button beside the closed off entrance, the two of them came to a halt.
After Bulma looked over to her for a response, Rosemary quickly blushed once again.
"I suppose…" She responded after some hesitation. "I'm used to being surrounded by royalty and very high ranked, powerful officials… And, of course, soldiers that could easily take my life in an instant if they so felt like it. I've been primed to be passive and rather accepting of things over the years."
Alerting the two of them with a faint but pleasant ding, the doors to the elevator mechanically slid open with some quiet humming from the internal workings.
"Oh yeah, about that," Bulma went on perkily, being the first to enter. "I have to ask, really, just how long have you been, well, captured?"
Following close behind and hastily taking a position beside Bulma, Rosemary bowed her head to think.
"Well, I'd need to know what the date is and the year, assuming it lines up with the system that we Saiyans and the Frieza Force used to keep time…" She paused for a moment to try and rack her brain, but couldn't. Instead, she gave a disappointed sigh. "I don't think I even know my age anymore…"
Bulma was ready to come to the rescue once again, but the alarm bells were warning her that this wasn't going to be a small number if it was long enough for Rosemary, this surprisingly intelligent and organized woman, to lose all sense of her surroundings.
"You know, Earth has its own way of telling time, as I'm sure most planets do," She went on with a confident grin, hunching over to get her attention.
Rosemary anticipatedly looked back up to meet her eyes. She was perfectly ready to do the math.
"But, for those of us in the science industry such as myself, we have a universal way to age the galaxy based on our own knowledge, maybe that helps?"
Rosemary's expression beamed with interest, her mouth slightly hanging open in surprise and her eyes wide with thrill. Bulma was starting to speak in ways that began to catch her attention far more now - up until this point, she wasn't sure what to expect from the woman that showed an apparent taste in Zarbon of all people. If the compound belonged to her family, Bulma must have been wealthy, and if she was a woman of science as she had claimed, having the riches to match must have meant that her work was well received.
Strange looking spacecrafts, intriguing architecture and well thought out designs, yes, everything was beginning to make more sense now - no normal person would typically have access to such things. She hadn't been giving Bulma the appropriate amount of credit up until now, it seemed.
"Oh! Maybe, yes!" Rosemary replied cheerily, giddily leaning in to hear more. "Please, do tell me!"
Bulma looked forward to ponder.
"Right now we're in Age 762… I think? I'd have to check the lab to be sure, but it's something like that. My dad was doing some research on the planet Namek before we set out to travel there."
"762?" Rosemary gasped, mouthing the words again under her breath. "That sounds correct, but goodness, I didn't think it had been so long… I was born in what would have been our Year 732, and I was captured in Year 750, I was just under eighteen…"
She blinked hard. Fourteen years?
Putting it all together in her head as well, Bulma looked over in shock as she began to realize what exactly she was dealing with. This poor woman had barely experienced life at all, and yet, she seemed so sophisticated, so composed...
"So, roughly, half of my life."
The elevator ding-ed again, the doors opening to let them out as the two of them stood in a short but heavy silence.
Bulma was the first to step out of the elevator, outstretching a hand out to Rosemary to get her to follow.
"You know, with all the talk of capture and whatnot," She attempted to break the tension with more casual talk. "I kinda assumed it was a lot less than that since you talk so loosely about it… Geez, I wasn't expecting something like that…"
Dazed at the idea, she mulled over it further as she led Rosemary down the hallway for a few more steps, then halted once again.
"Wait, you're thirty?!"
Rosemary nervously slowed to a stop. Did her age matter to anything?
"If your information matches up with my own, then yes, I suppose so…" she answered.
Shocked, Bulma gave her another scan. Nothing about Rosemary looked overly matured - she had a petite build that reluctantly reminded her of the 'gifted' girls she dealt with coming out of highschool, tiny but curvy from the waist down, along with surprisingly smooth skin despite being apparently tortured… Wait, where was her bust? Surely if she was an older woman, she wouldn't be as flat-chested as she looked. No, maybe it was the chestplate she was wearing that clearly didn't compliment anything of hers, but at least her tight grey bodysuit picked up the slack.
Rosemary cluelessly awaited some kind of further instruction from Bulma as she continued to awkwardly stare back at her.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to freak out like that, shoot, I already forgot you're shy." Bulma gently rushed in. "It's just, wow, you look so young, you can hardly tell!"
The two of them resumed their stroll down the hall, coming up to a wide, green door to their left. There weren't many doors in this area, to Rosemary's surprise, the only other she could spot other than this one was at the end of the hallway.
Bulma fumbled around in the pockets of her banged up yellow cargo jacket.
"So, wait, if you're thirty," She continued, pulling out a small white card after having to dig through three separate compartments. "What does that make Vegeta?"
Rosemary held up a finger as a matter of factly. Finally, a topic she could speak of in confidence.
"We are the same age." she explained in a firm, informant tone. "Prince Vegeta is ten days older than me-"
"Oh, come on!" Bulma sighed and threw up her hands, disappointed. "I was hoping he was a little younger, honestly, you seem smarter and more responsible than he is… You guys look like you just hit twenty, if anything."
Bulma took the card and stepped up to the door, swiping it through a small slot on the right edge of the doorframe. A light from inside of the slot shone a bright green, and a couple of seconds later, the door slid off to the side in a much quicker, more silent fashion than the elevator had.
"It may have something to do with the fact that Saiyans have a much longer period of youth than most other species we know of." Rosemary added after a small chuckle.
Bulma took a step inside, gently leading Rosemary with an arm.
"We are a warrior race, our genetics allow us to-"
A cool breeze rushed over the both of them as they found themselves among the entrance of what looked to be a residence. The room was incredibly spacious from where they stood, the two of them looking out into the radiantly lit room in wonder.
Rosemary's words came to a slow as her eyes blankly washed over her surroundings, lost in the openness that the dwelling had to offer. The back wall had been entirely made of glass panels from floor to ceiling, allowing plenty of natural light from outside to grace the room with an elegant, bright glow. The windows split in the middle to accomodate a double door, which led to what Rosemary assumed was a balcony of some variety. In the far left corner, there was a bookcase with a few empty shelves, accompanied by a beige lounge chair and some matching sofas, as well as a screen-like device whose purpose she wasn't sure of at the time that sat on it's own stand. A communicator, perhaps? She made a mental note to ask Bulma.
Bulma happily glanced over to Rosemary as she looked at her new home for the first time. From what she could see, Rosemary looked to be completely awestruck. The sun's rays illuminated her face just enough for Bulma to notice what could be the early signs of tears, her eyes had an increased glossiness to them, and while the lids of her eyes showed her fatigue and exhaustion, they hadn't began to twitch just yet.
Bulma carefully placed a hand on Rosemary's shoulder so as not to frighten her.
"Well, this is it." Bulma announced with a bright smile. "Your apartment!"
Rosemary's hands began to quiver at her sides. Was Bulma serious? This place was massive, and she assumed that this was only the beginning. She couldn't fathom a personal residence so large for a commoner, in fact, it even rivaled that of the prince's quarters back at the palace.
"M-Mine?!" She stammered, completely dumbfounded. "All of it? Gods, Bulma, I… I d-don't know what to say…"
"Well, we're not done yet, so you have some time to figure it out," Bulma joked, leading her off to the right. The two of them approached an archway in the wall, passing a long, glass table that had been paired with some dark wooden chairs off to the side in the back corner of the room. "I'm guessing you probably had some fancy dining hall back home… We have one downstairs, too, kinda, but you've got your own dining table. And, over in here," she walked through the entrance to the next room over. "You've got your kitchen."
Hesitant to step inside, Rosemary peered in through the side of the archway, to find a smaller room compared to the main foyer, complete with refrigeration on the right, a single four-element stove, a wash sink off on the left wall and multiple cabinets around the room, all linked together with lightly coloured cupboards that had been topped with a charcoal grey, stone-like countertop. It certainly wasn't the Royal Kitchen, by any means, but for herself, it was more than sufficient.
At a complete loss for words, Rosemary let out a helpless sigh.
Bulma came out of the kitchen, and started heading for the other side of the apartment and into a small corridor. Rosemary wasn't sure if she could handle much more, but she followed anyways.
Now left of the main room, Bulma passed a couple of mirror-faced doors by the main entrance that housed a closet and stopped in front of two new doorways, both half open and parallel to one another. After a moment to ponder which she should show first, she turned towards the left facing enclosure, pushing the slightly opened door aside and flicking on a light switch.
Inside was a cozy, sparkly clean washroom. At the opposite end of the room, there was a small, partitioned area with a tinted green glass door, giving the shower a confined, private feeling.
Stepping into the doorway, Rosemary took a curious peek inside, immediately locking eyes on a generously sized, pearly white washtub. Letting out another sigh of relief, she briefly looked over the rest of the bright room, the remaining features not nearly as high an interest to her.
"Like pretty much every woman in existence, I'm sure you like hot baths." Bulma added with a giggly smile. "So of course, you have both a shower and a tub."
Rosemary gave a warm smile, already imagining the incredible sensation of freshly ran, scalding hot water over her body, along with a wonderful aroma of one of her floral soaps from home.
"Oh yes," She responded dreamily, her cheeks rosy with delight. "They are one of my favourite things in the universe… And I have been deprived of them for so, so long."
"You're in heaven then, the tub's all yours." Bulma laughed. "Well, would you look at that, I'm finally learning things about you! Alright, well that's the bathroom, not really much to comment on there, one more room."
Bulma proceeded immediately across the small alcove and pushed the door aside to reveal Rosemary's new bedroom, which quickly greeted the both of them with a similar, pleasantly and naturally lit room.
The daylight seeped its way past Bulma and quickly caught her attention, drawing her in towards the next room over.
She took slow but awestruck steps, and froze in the doorway.
Just like the main room, the back wall was almost entirely glass panels, with a door leading out onto a balcony that looked to be connected to the main room - Rosemary made another mental note to have a look at the view later on after everything here was done.
As if her home wasn't obnoxious enough, goodness, what a large bed she had… Off to the left side was a mattress that arguably sat taller and wider than even the most luxurious of beds she'd laid eyes on in her time - she briefly recalled Zarbon's odd obsession with having a massive spread to sleep on, one of the few things she strangely appreciated about the cruel general's tastes. The top layer of the linens looked to be a rather thick, white but ever so slightly purple blanket, on top of matching sheets and to her excitement, complemented by half a dozen pillows.
Thank the gods above, she loved pillows.
She could already feel the soft, cloud-like textures brushing against her cheek… She'd already known that the first time she'd sleep here would be a very heavy, extended but greatly needed rest.
"Annnnd for our final stop, your bedroom." Bulma called out to the wondrous silence after a minute's inspection. "I gotta say, you've got yourself one of the best beds that man has ever created."
"It... appears that way, it's enormous." Rosemary remarked, approaching the giant mass and smoothed over the covers - a surprisingly smooth and plush texture danced across the tips of her fingers as she worked her hand over the fabric. "I could fit five of me in this…"
"Oh-ho, it doesn't end at the size, trust me." Bulma proudly boasted. "The man that used to live here, he's my dad's best friend and co-founder of the company that is now the leading brand in the world for all sorts of things! He had a knack for lifestyle and home-related projects, and the blanket on your bed is one of his personal designs and best-sellers."
She joined Rosemary at the bedside, took hold of a corner of the blanket and lifted it to show off it's surprisingly thin but dense nature.
"Give this a feel." She went on, passing the handful of linen to Rosemary, watching as Rosemary's hand gave slightly under the deceiving, heavy weight that the blanket had hidden away.
Rosemary's eyes grew wide in confusion.
"It's… heavy?" She gasped. "Interesting, but I have to ask why this is the case? It seems rather odd, to have the desire of being pinned against your bed."
"Ah-ha." Bulma snickered, her thoughts temporarily travelling to the less innocent side of her brain. "Part of Mr. Lawson's research found that heavier blankets simulate the feeling of being embraced or cuddled, and as such, it's shown to lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as help those with insomnia get a better night's rest! Cool, huh?"
'Those with insomnia.'
Playing back the words again, Rosemary thought of the short moment from earlier in the day where she'd brought up Vegeta's sleep issues, a warm wave of guilt rushing its way through her limbs. Dwelling on the idea, she probably could have found other ways to divert his attention from attacking the boy that didn't affect his dignity, but what's done was done.
Pained with regret, she sighed yet again.
"Hey, speaking of sleep," Bulma nudged, "I bet you're exhausted, you nearly collapsed earlier! Maybe it's time you got some shut-eye, yeah?"
"Maybe…" Rosemary sadly trailed off.
She missed Vegeta already.
"Tell me, Bulma… This is all so lovely and I don't have the words to thank you enough, but do you expect anything in return for all of this?"
Bulma shook her head with a cheeky grin.
"I had a feeling you'd ask that, and nope, it's yours!" She clapped back. "Now that Mr. Lawson's retired and everything, though, he's moved out to go and travel the world, so I may have some lab assistant jobs opening up though if it's something that tickles your fancy. Take some time to think about it though, it's been a long day, and I know it's going to take some time to adjust."
She put a hand on Rosemary's shoulder.
"Let's get this, uh…" She ran a thumb over the slightly scratched metal straps on Rosemary's chest plate. "...armour off of you."
Ah yes, finally.
With a slight snicker, Rosemary was sold. Knowing a small battle was upon her, she took a step back to give herself ample room to fight with her clothing. Slipping off her white gloves and boots, she took a deep breath to prepare.
"Now that you mention it, I do hate this thing." She replied with a grin, clutching the bottom of the plate and wriggled it over her chest with frustration. "The thought that I may never have to wear this again is reassuring."
As if it was stuck before, the armour popped off of her body as she finally lifted it above her head, releasing her breasts to bounce and then naturally sit against her with a quick jolt of pain to her collar area.
Bulma watched in wonder as the top half of Rosemary's body structure began to show it's true nature. It was like she'd gone through a magical transformation in front of her eyes - her waist curved in now instead of the boring, straight lines she'd had up until now, as a proper woman's body should, and the flat chest that had made her appear even more youthful than she'd already been had really just been a healthy bustline that was forcefully squished down. She pondered the size of it for a moment, trying not to awkwardly stare right at Rosemary's breasts for longer than a second. There was no way these were D's... C's, however, very likely. She told herself to remember that detail for later.
Were all Saiyan women like this? Crazy good curves, adorably small and pretty, no wonder Vegeta grew weak at the very sight of her. It was almost unfair - even the most fortunate of Earth's girls growing up couldn't pull this off with the greatest metabolisms and strictest of diets out there.
Setting the plate down on a table beside the bed with a wince, Rosemary took a seat on the edge of the bed, clutching at her chest uncomfortably under her arms and crossing her legs at the ankles, awkwardly squeezing her thighs together.
"Forgive me, normally I would have other clothes available to change into…" she mentioned stiffly, shoving her hair aside to avoid sitting on it. "These suits aren't typically worn alone…"
"So, you are a woman under that thing." Bulma teased, contently squaring her arms. "I don't want to think about how sore your chest is right now if it was that tight."
Rosemary hugged herself even tighter, bashfully looking down at the floor.
"More than it should be, admittedly."
"We can fix that," Bulma assured her with a wink. "You know, other than maybe your height, you're probably a good fit for some of my clothes, and I have plenty that I could afford to give up."
Rosemary looked off to the side. As if an entirely new home wasn't enough, Bulma was going to completely remodel her as well? Everything was beginning to feel similar to her first encounter with the Saiyan Palace, all the way down to the unthinkably kind caregiving staff that constantly insisted that the space was hers to share.
At least back then, she'd been given a job to earn her position.
She wasn't going to bother challenging it at this point, in fact, Bulma probably wouldn't let her.
Bulma gave her another look over from head to toe. "Yeah, how about this - while you catch up on some rest, I'll go dig through my wardrobe and put some stuff aside for you. That way, when you wake up, we can get you all cleaned up and dressed and I'll show you around some more! Sound like a plan?"
The way she was making it all sound, it was like Rosemary was some kind of play thing that an infant would dress and pretend was a person for the sake of leisure. She did, however, need new clothes, and if she was going to be an Earth civilian from now on, she could afford to trust a seemingly wealthy and famous figure.
For now, she would oblige.
"S-Sure." She replied with a small nod, curling her legs up onto the bed in a single, smooth swing. "I hope I don't stay asleep for too long, I don't want to keep you."
"It's only one in the afternoon, it won't be dark for a while still." Bulma informed her with a more welcoming, gentle tone. "Trust me, you'll be fine, quit your worrying."
Rosemary chuckled. As if she hadn't heard that a million times before.
"You're beginning to sound like someone else I know." Rosemary joked, carefully crawling up to the half dozen pillows at the head of her bed.
Bulma took a seat on the edge to watch her get settled in.
"Hey, now, don't lump me in with him." She retorted. "Go on, get under the blanket, I wanna know what you think of it. It's not often I get to do this kinda thing, you know?"
And yet, she'd just offered up the compound to an entire civilization of alien survivors. Was there a limit to this woman's charity?
After a good deal of effort, Rosemary managed to lift the dense blanket enough to slide herself under and gently eased herself down onto the pillows.
As the soft fluff of the cushions began to give under the weight of her, every limb of her body relaxed, leaving her with an otherworldly, almost weightless sensation. The cool smoothness of the linens caressed her cheeks as she comfortably nuzzled in, and their delicate touch against her skin was enough to make her skin shiver in pleasure. Turning onto her side, she let the heavy blanket settle on top of her, pressing securely against her hips to hug her figure - Bulma was right, it did feel sort of like an embrace.
She didn't think she would get such a joyful experience like this ever again - she could finally rest on her own terms, under her own sheets, in a bed that was hers and only hers.
Before she knew it, she was overwhelmingly crying. Her tears effortlessly trickled onto the pillows, and she finally gave up on trying to fight her emotions for the day.
And so, she sobbed quietly to her heart's desire.
"This is wonderful…" She whimpered. "I'm so sorry, this is just-" She took a quick breath in between sobs and hid a little more under the sheets. "I don't how to say what this means to me, Bulma, just... understand that I am eternally grateful."
Bulma put a hand on a lump of blanket and gently massaged it with her thumb.
"That's all I need." She smiled. "The majority of my life has been spent around big, brawny boys that want to do nothing but train and fight. They're my best friends, of course, but it's great having new people around." she stroked the soft mass slowly, not actually sure if Rosemary could feel it underneath due to the thickness of the cover. "We probably value life differently than you're used to on Earth, death happens but it's either a crime or natural when it does, but the important part is that you saved a lot of people and that's a big deal."
"Now that you mention it…" Rosemary adjusted slightly under the sheets. "How did Vegeta become acquainted with this planet? I have my suspicions, but I think it could give me some insight on things..."
"I'll save that story for when you wake up." Bulma winked. "Geez, you're like a big kid, you're so curious and excited... I've got so much to tell you and teach you, I think we're going to be good friends." she gave Rosemary a final wink. "But for now, get some rest."
Rosemary unburied her face from the pillows to take a few strained breaths.
"V-Very well…"
After that, the two of them remained silent as Rosemary continued to cry into her pillows, and after another fifteen minutes of constant blubbering, Rosemary had finally fallen into a deep, peaceful slumber.
Leaving her with a heartwarming smile, Bulma took her leave from Rosemary's room, and proceeded back down to the landing area of the compound to work on settling in everyone else.
. . .
"Vegeta, come on out!" a shrilling voice irritably rang in his ears through the speakers.
If she was trying to sound any bit appealing, this harpy-like blonde woman certainly wasn't going to sell him on anything like this.
"I've got some drinks for everyone! I made you a Shirley Temple, it's delicious!"
He'd thought that taking refuge in an idle spacecraft would get him away from the crowd, so obnoxious and sickeningly happy now that they've relocated and settled in. What were they thinking, keeping an unlocked and readily accessible ship out in the open as if it were some kind of recreation? Such a device wasn't meant to be a play thing. If he'd wanted to, he could have blasted off in a second and no one would see him again. But for a reason unknown to him, people seemed to casually invite him to join them despite everything that happened just hours prior, despite everything that he had done to them in his own attempt to find calm.
And yet, he was hesitant. Somewhere in the corner of his brain, the tiniest fraction of him lacked closure, and it was enough to make him lethargic. In some vast valley of his conscience, part of him didn't seem content with the fact that he was parting ways with a friend.
A uniquely close, highly respected, emotionally suffering and likely traumatized friend. Ally, perhaps? No, friend.
He thought he was past such sentiment - he'd thrown his heart to the empty void of space long ago, so why did his chest feel so heavy today? Why were his words so taxing? Why hadn't he just left already? These were all simple things with simple solutions, but every decision felt like it would be his last.
He was… vulnerable.
He whipped open the door to the spacecraft, fuming in denial, only to be met with an all-too familiar blue haired woman that blocked his path, alone.
With a cocky grin and a hip out to the side, Bulma narrowed her eyes on him.
"So, you're still here, huh?
