Remember in the previous chapter that I mentioned my laptop was blue-screening and crashing? Well a couple of days after I uploaded the previous chapter, my laptop finally gave out and got the black screen of death. We took it to Best Buy, they said in 3 days it would be fixed. We returned, to find out they did a factory reset on it, and it still was not working. They kept it for another week. We returned a week later, only to find out they can't fix it, and no one ever called and told us. We made them ship my laptop off to their repair center, and five days later I got a call saying the motherboard was bad, and it would be $525 to fix it. Honestly it was a rip-off to pay that much to fix a gaming laptop that is almost 4 years old. I wanted to buy a new gaming laptop because I refused to pay $525 to fix the laptop when getting a newer one was much better overall. After much debate, I decided I didn't need a gaming laptop and could get a regular netbook, so that I could at least keep writing my story. My hubby said it wouldn't make me happy because I love playing World of Warcraft and we'd bicker over who got to play it on the desktop, if I didn't have a gaming laptop of my own. We talked things over for another week, and I agreed he was right. Meanwhile, Best Buy sent our laptop back to us since we never made a decision to fix it. I resorted to shopping on eBay for the motherboard, and found some for between $250-$325 dollars. Luckily I found a seller with a great reputation who sold me the motherboard I needed for $170. My husband's cousin happens to also be a computer whiz, and he was kind enough to install it for free. So finally, almost two months later, my laptop is back up and running, with all my original data still there (they never did a factory reset like they said they did!).
Couple this whole laptop nightmare with the Thanksgiving holiday (had it at my house for the first time, I cooked my first turkey, which came out great!), the horribly busy season at work (no time at all to do anything but work and sleep and breathe), and Christmas and New Year's (both at my house again, with relatives who stayed from Christmas through New Year's), and all of you wonderful readers who have been waiting so patiently for me to update (and the self-imposed pressure I had in knowing I had nothing to update since my laptop was down for the count), now you know why it's taken me almost 2 months to update. Didn't help that my husband's desktop does not have Microsoft on it, so I couldn't write my story on it. I learned I could go on fan fiction dot net and try to write my story there as a document, but I can't access personal sites at work (rarely got a lunch break anyway) and honestly, at home either I was too busy with family, holidays, too tired, or hubby was using the computer to even get close to finishing this chapter.
Well, the good news that I'm back! My laptop is running better than ever, I copied and pasted what I had written down for this chapter so far onto a Word document, and have spent my day off doing nothing but writing the chapter up. I've missed all of you, and I hope you've missed me and this story also! Thank you to everyone for continuing to follow the story and just know that I adore you all very much. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holiday also! Even though I hadn't been able to write, I did tons and tons of thinking about this story, and I've got some fun stuff coming up. I think you'll enjoy it. I think you'll flip out. I think you may fall in love with this story all over again.
A/N: I don't own Dragonball Z. I did, however, just finish writing the longest chapter of this story so far. I have to say that it's by far my most favorite chapter.
2nd A/N: The two sections of this chapter (located at the beginning and at the end) that are in italics are flashbacks/memories/backstory. You will be reading one right off the bat, and it may not make any sense now, but by the time you finish reading this chapter it will make sense. I hope at least it will.
Okay, enough rambling on my end….ladies and gentlemen, for your reading pleasure, I present to you the next installment. I hope you enjoy it!
And please take a moment to read the quote below. It's meaning is very important for this chapter.
"But some emotions don't make a lot of noise. It's hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint…like a heartbeat. And pure love…why, some days it's so quiet, you don't even know it's there."
Chapter 13- Heartbeat
"Give it back to me!" a young Bulma demanded from the flame-haired boy.
"How about you make me!" a young Vegeta taunted, quickly darting around the corner of the couch, always staying one step ahead of the blue-haired girl.
"Mom!" Bulma yelled out in a whine. "Vegeta won't give me back my toy!"
"Vegeta…be nice." Bunny scolded in a loving cluck from somewhere nearby.
"Yeah, be nice!" Bulma reaffirmed, holding her hand out expectantly for the toy he currently held in his grasp.
The young prince looked at her hand, then back up at her with a mischievous smile. "If you can catch me, I'll give it back to you." With that being said, Vegeta quickly took to the air, levitating upward almost to the ceiling, well out of the reach of the young girl.
Bulma stomped her foot down. "That's not fair, I can't fly!" she complained as she tried to jump up to reach him, and was failing horribly.
"It's not my fault you're not Saiyan." Vegeta grinned as he continued to hover in the air.
"Vegeta, give it back!" Bulma demanded of him again, "or you'll be sorry!"
"Come and get it!" the young prince taunted again.
"Vegeta, my boy, don't make her mad." Dr. Brief said calmly as he walked through the living room, making his way through to the kitchen.
Vegeta, temporarily distracted by Dr. Brief's appearance, did not realize that Bulma could in fact reach him. Suddenly he felt his tail being yanked downward, and hard. Bulma had jumped off from the coffee table with all her strength and managed to get a firm hold of his tail which he had mistakenly left uncurled and dangling. He let out a growl of pain and annoyance as they both came crashing back down to the carpeted floor.
A few cracks were heard, as well as some unpleasant grumbles as the toy that had the unfortunate luck of being under them had broken.
"Owww…" Bulma said, righting herself up to a sitting position and rubbing her left shoulder.
"I can't believe you yanked my tail!" Vegeta scolded as he gingerly massaged it while he shot her a stern glare.
"I told you you'd be sorry." Bulma said, sticking out her tongue at him as she began to stand up. "So, I caught you….deal's a deal. My toy, please." the young girl said somewhat smugly.
"Fair enough." the young prince grumbled, getting up also, only to see Bulma's toy broken underneath him.
"Vegeta!" the young girl gasped, kneeling down and rummaging through the broken pieces of her toy. "You broke it!"
"I did not!" he countered, seeing her favorite toy utterly destroyed. "We both broke it."
"If you had given it back to me when I said so, then this wouldn't have happened!" Bulma said, her voice quivering enough that Vegeta sensed she was trying not to cry.
"Don't cry, girl, I hate it when you cry." Vegeta warned her, his face etched in a slight scowl.
"I'm not crying!" she stubbornly insisted, as a few sniffles escaped her, giving away otherwise. She gathered the broken pieces in her hands, and stood up, walking past Vegeta without so much as a look at him as she made her way to her daddy. Her daddy could fix anything….and someday, so would she.
Bulma couldn't explain the feeling of sudden nervousness that set in as they entered the restaurant and were quickly shown to their seats. Per Vegeta's request, they had a private, closed off section located at the very back where it was much quieter. Upon arriving at the table, Vegeta had remained standing, albeit somewhat awkwardly, waiting for her to sit down first at their curved booth-like table. She felt somewhat self-conscious as she quickly got the hint and took her seat. It may not have meant anything, really…but most would agree that having the Prince of Saiyans show her such respect and manners was a big deal. She watched as Vegeta then took his seat. Instead of choosing to sit across from her, he chose to sit closer next to her.
Bulma tried to hide her blush by distracting herself, choosing to glance around at their surroundings. The restaurant they were in was beautiful. It was much fancier than she had thought was necessary. It was dim inside the restaurant, the place was adorned with yellow diamond-like crystals that seemed to emit their own warm, radiating energy, giving the restaurant an almost romantic feel to it. Perhaps that was causing her slight nervousness. It wasn't exactly a place she would think Vegeta to take her. Not for a simple, quick lunch, at least.
She continued to look around, watching the servers gently hover over their tables, attending to whatever whims the patrons so desired. They were odd looking creatures indeed, grey-colored, small, with large round bald heads and black round eyes. They seemed very kind though, and genuinely happy to serve. One thing she noted was that they did not seem to fear Vegeta as he walked through the restaurant, even with his intimidating aura and all. Temporarily distracted by her wandering thoughts and by the beautiful restaurant, she did not pay attention to what Vegeta was currently telling their server. Bulma's attention was quickly drawn to movement in the corner of her eye as their server quickly hurried away from them. She turned her gaze in time to watch their server scamper off, and then she turned her attention to Vegeta, who was looking at her dead-on with a look that she could not in a hundred years ever decipher. "What?" she asked him softly, not knowing why he was looking at her like that.
Vegeta had been subtly watching her, studying Bulma's body language and facial expressions as they first took their seats. It was sometimes very hard to get a read on her, but as he ordered their drinks and their food, he continued to watch her as she studied and analyzed everything in her sight. Her attention to detail was only second to his, and he could tell that she very much liked the place he had brought her to. "I figured this would be as good of a place as any. The sooner I get you fed, the sooner I can quit hearing you complain about it." he said, reclining back in his seat, outstretching both of his arms and resting them on top of the cushions that their booth had.
"It's a very nice place." she smirked, feeling her nervousness start to edge away as she sank backward into the cushions a little, trying to make herself more comfortable like he was doing. "Pretty fancy for a lunch date." she joked. "I have to say, I'm feeling underdressed though."
"There's nothing wrong with how you're dressed, woman." Vegeta replied nonchalantly. "I'm hardly dressed for this place either." he said, gesturing to his business armor.
Bulma perked up an eyebrow. "You mean you actually wear something other than your armor and training gear?" she feigned like she was going to pass out as she raised the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. "Call the ambulance, I'm about to die from shock." she joked, giving him a teasing smile.
"There are no ambulances around here, woman." Vegeta smirked. "Nearest medical station is two planets over, so good luck with that."
"Seriously, you could teleport me there if you had to."
"I already told you, I'm not going to be your intergalactic chauffer." he replied, to which he received a kick to his foot from under the table. Vegeta countered, kicking her foot back. Bulma threw him a warning glare as she kicked him back again, only to have him kick again also. Their playful banter was put on pause as their server quickly appeared with their drinks. She respectfully placed four drinks in front of Vegeta, and two drinks in front of the beautiful female he was with. With a hasty bow to them both, the server quickly retreated to tend to the rest of their order.
Bulma eyed her gorgeous glassware, which looked more like some sort of purplish crystal that had a dim glow to it. She peered inside the glass, looking at the unfamiliar drink that was awaiting her. She looked back over at Vegeta, who had four rather large crystal-looking mugs that held some other type of drink in them that was different from hers.
"What's this?" she asked curiously as she picked up her own glass.
"Try it." he said as he picked up the first of his mugs and drank from it. He watched as Bulma looked back at her drink, and shrugging her shoulders, brought the glass to her lips. She trusted him. He wouldn't give her anything that was disgusting. His dark eyes studied her as she timidly drank from her glass, awaiting her reaction.
"Wow, this is delicious." she gushed, taking another drink from it. It reminder her of some sort of strawberry or passion fruit nectar. It had a slight fizz to it, and it had an aftertaste of what reminded her of wine.
"Figured you'd like it." Vegeta shrugged off. "It's the closest thing to strawberry flavored around these parts."
"It's good, thanks." Bulma said with an affectionate tone, feeling that nervousness tug at her again as she shot him a warm smile. Deciding to preoccupy herself with her new favorite drink, and avoid thinking about how he made a effort to get her something that she would actually enjoy, she turned her gaze away from him and continued to look around at her surroundings. And here she thought they were just going to grab a quick bite to eat, and head off to get his materials for his new gravity room as soon as possible. But by the looks of things, it seemed like he was no longer in a real rush to get going.
Vegeta simply nodded, as he continued to sip on his own drink and look around also. He started to feel apprehensive. It was extremely rare for the both of them to sit down together and eat. At her home, her mom was usually around, and back at his home, everyone ate in the grand dining hall. He couldn't think of the last time when it was just the two of them alone.
"This is so weird…when's the last time we've had a meal together?" Bulma asked out of nowhere, and Vegeta gave her a quizzical look. Apparently their thoughts were on the same track.
"Last night, don't you remember?" he said matter-of-factly.
She rolled her eyes slightly. "That's not what I mean. And that doesn't count, since you pissed me off and made me leave my food behind. I meant, when's the last time you and I had lunch together, without either of our families or other people around us?"
He shrugged. "It's been long enough that even I don't remember." Vegeta answered honestly as he tried to think about it.
After a few moments, they both came up empty handed. "Ah well…guess it doesn't matter, we're here now." Bulma murmured, shrugging as she continued to sip now from her drink, already feeling better by having gotten something in her stomach.
"Hn." Vegeta agreed, as his thoughts quickly detoured from their conversation, to wondering what was going on back at his home planet. It would be painfully obvious by now that he was AWOL again. He wondered if his parents had cancelled the rest of the meetings today, or if they'd continue on without him. It wouldn't be the first time. He was sure they had Nappa and Raditz patrolling the palace, ready to jump on him the moment he got back to Vegetasei. Raditz might try to actually kill him this time for being away from their protective watch for the hundredth time. Nappa might actually be pissed this time at him too. He was also sure that word had gotten around to his parents that Bulma had been there to fix his machine. They would be able to put two and two together and realize that he took off somewhere with her. He would bet that they were trying to get Kakarot to sense his ki out and bring him back to Vegetasei. That's assuming Goku was even still on Vegetasei. If he had returned to Earth for the day then there was no way his parents, or his bodyguards, or anyone else could get into contact with him…as long as the third class fool didn't answer his scouter.
Knowing Vegeta's luck, Goku wouldn't be that smart.
Vegeta wondered if his mother was really going to cut off his tail this time. She had warned him that he better remain planet-bound today. Well, more like threatened. And here he was, completely NOT on Vegetasei….but instead on a different world with Bulma, adding her to his account, giving her half the empire, and having a 'lunch date' with her. He sighed irritably. He swore that Bulma was going to be the death of him. He was sure his father was going to try to put him on lockdown. No way would anyone let him leave off-planet after today. To add insult to injury, he was sure his parents would probably try to make Kakarot his own personal prison warden, since he was the only other Saiyan who could use Instant Transmission and bring him right back if he decided to leave off-planet again.
The King and Queen were going to really lay down the hammer on him whenever he went back home.
Suddenly he didn't feel like going back home tonight.
"Vegeta?" Bulma's voice broke though his despondent thoughts, and he gave her a questioning look.
"What?" he asked, picking up his mug again and taking a drink. A big, long drink.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." he answered simply, not wanting to think any longer about the possible repercussions of his actions. He would have to face the consequences later. Not today, perhaps, but soon enough.
"Were you even listening to me?"
"No." he answered truthfully, earning a huff from Bulma. He watched as she grabbed a holographic device that was located near the center of their table and held it up to him. The device projected a 4D hologram of different intergalactic advertisements and events and he waited with veiled curiosity as she scrolled through the ads with a wave of her other hand until she came upon the event she was looking for.
"Look! The AR-158 meteor shower is going on tonight off of planet Demesor! There's outdoor staging, with a banquet, what looks like an orchestra, and of course, the main event!" Bulma gushed excitedly. "Let's go!"
Vegeta's eyebrows furrowed as he took the device from her and expanded the event advertisement, watching as the alien in the ad mentioned that only the top elite were going to view the spectacular meteor shower and auroras, all the while enjoying a nice evening out under the stars. "Woman, this a big event. It's by invitation only."
"So? You're elite. You're the Prince of Saiyans. Didn't you get an invitation?"
"Hell if I know. I don't have time, nor do I care enough to filter through useless digital intergalactic messages." Vegeta responded, setting the holographic device back down on their table.
"Don't you want to go?"
"No."
"But I want to go." Bulma replied, giving a slight pout.
"Woman, the universe does not revolve around you."
"No, the universe does not revolve around me," she quipped, "it's just our two beautiful planets that do." Bulma finished arrogantly, giving Vegeta a smug grin to which earned her an annoyed roll of his eyes. "Seriously Vegeta, don't you think it would be fun to go to it?"
"I already said no."
"C'mon, why not?" the blue-haired beauty whined slightly. "I never get to go anywhere off-planet anymore, besides Vegetasei! I want to do something fun, and Kami knows what a workaholic you are. You need a break also! C'mon Vegeta, we have nothing to do tonight. Let's go."
"I do not need a break, and there is plenty to do tonight. You are buying the materials you need for my gravity machine, and you're going to start working on it tonight…or did you forget your promise of having it done in a few weeks?"
"I also said maybe I would have it done in a month and a half, at the most." Bulma countered. "Besides, by the time I find all the materials…assuming I can get them all today…it will be too late to start working on it." Bulma reasoned, earning a stern look from Vegeta.
"Don't you have obligations on Earth tonight?"
"What?" Bulma said, momentarily caught off-guard by the question. "No, I don't have anything going on tonight." she responded, even though in the back of her head she knew she had to talk to Yamcha about what had happened the night before. But still, she reasoned, that could wait until tomorrow. Rare were opportunities like this when they were both away from work and their responsibilities, and had the whole day and night to really do whatever they wanted…if she could just convince him!
Vegeta remained stern, turning his gaze away from Bulma's pleading look, to elsewhere, as he watched other patrons in the restaurant. He noticed how many of them would subtly turn their gaze away from him. Word would quickly spread that he was having lunch with a beautiful female, in a private booth, during the middle of the day, on a planet that was not his own. He let out an agitated sigh. "The event is tonight. I'm sure by now there are no invitations left, nor room for any extra guests. We won't have the time to go anyway, because the materials need to be purchased today. Even if everything cannot be found today, we need to get most of it done, and you need to start working on it as soon as possible, because I won't be able to train on Earth again for a long time. I have a lot of work to do on Vegetasei and for my empire…I'm not sure when I'll even be able to go off-planet again." he reluctantly told her, not wanting to give her even an inkling that he had put himself into scalding hot water from his actions so far today. She didn't need to know that he probably would not be allowed to leave Vegetasei for a very long time after he returned.
"Oh." Bulma said softly. She took a couple of quiet moments to contemplate his words. He spoke the truth, and his logic was correct. "I suppose you're right, Vegeta." she said in a sad, disappointed tone that rang hard though Vegeta's heart. "You're right, we need to get the materials for your gravity room, and I need to build it fast. Before we know it, we're both going to be too busy here soon to do anything, really..." she trailed off, picking up her drink and taking a gulp from it, trying to stifle that bitter feeling that had been hitting her lately…that sick, twisted feeling that she was running out of time. "Just wanted to spend time and do something awesome with you, that's all." she told him, averting her gaze to something else other than him.
Vegeta inhaled a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "We're spending time together right now." he stated. Seeing she had no immediate reply, he decided to break the uneasiness between them by gently nudging her foot with his own.
Bulma turned back to Vegeta and gave him a small, half-hearted smile. "Yeah, I know." she relented as she pushed the holographic device away from between them, to be quickly forgotten about. He was right, they were spending time together right now. She should have been glad that this was even happening. How could she really help that she wanted nothing more than to spend all day with him? What was this feeling she was having? She supposed she just missed him terribly, she reasoned, and it was something she just couldn't voice to him. Not when it seemed he wouldn't understand. Their server appeared with their food, along with a few other servers behind her, holding multiple trays of food as well. She was grateful for the good timing, since her thoughts were beginning to feel much too real.
Bulma watched as they began to serve them. She decided to change the subject. "Well, I'd say I'm surprised at all this food and say you couldn't eat all, but knowing you, which I completely do…I'm sure you can." she mused, watching as plateful upon plateful were laid down before them.
"Well you said you were starving, so I better see you eat." Vegeta countered, dismissing the servers with a wave of his hand. They bowed to him and quickly retreated to leave the Saiyan prince and his female guest alone. He watched Bulma as she looked at all the different types of meats and vegetation and wonderful-smelling culinary concoctions that he had ordered.
"Well, here goes nothing…" Bulma said as she grabbed a utensil the servers had given them. It wasn't quite like a fork back home, instead it had two prongs instead of four, and the outside edges of them were deadly sharp, for cutting into meat.
"Be careful with that." Vegeta warned as he sliced into his own food with his ki, and began to eat it.
"I know how to use one of these." Bulma assured as she flipped the utensil over to use the other end, which was a single sharp prong, and stabbed her cuts of meat and carefully brought it to her mouth. She began to chew it, and she had to say that it was a delicious cut of meat. "Mmmm, this is good food, Vegeta. Hey, what are you eating?"
"Dragon." he stated, popping a few yellowish-beige looking pieces of vegetable into his mouth, as he went for another piece of his dragon meat.
"Oh wow, can I try that?" Bulma more said than asked, as she reached over and stabbed her utensil into a piece of dragon meat, and began to eat off his plate. "Oh my goodness, this is amazing." she said as she continued to pick off of Vegeta's plate, trying one of those potato or squash-looking vegetables he had.
Vegeta growled a bit as he let her begin to take food from his plate, but it was a soft growl of annoyance. "You're lucky I don't bite your hand off." he told her. "How would you like it if I took from your plate?" and proceeded to do just that. He skewered a large chunk of meat from her plate and began taking bites of it, giving her a smug look as he did so. He expected her to complain, but instead, found a playful smile on her face.
"Seems fair enough." Bulma answered, earning a slight smile from him. She picked up her second glass of the fruit drink and silently offered Vegeta to have a taste, to which he acquiesced to.
The Saiyan prince and the genius heiress continued to share their food and drink with each other, enjoying the other's company, for they both had forgotten how well they truly could get along when they made the effort. A few hours passed as they remained at the restaurant for longer than originally intended.
"Man, I'm stuffed. I think I'm ready for a nap now." Bulma joked as she rubbed her stomach with one hand and stifled a yawn with the other.
"A nap would be nice." he agreed, reflecting a stifled yawn also as they walked out of the restaurant. He watched as she winced her eyes a bit, forgetting that it was still daylight out.
"Thanks for lunch, it was great." told him, to which he nodded slightly.
"Alright woman, we have work to do now. We've already wasted enough time as it is." the prince said as he looked up into the sky, trying to gauge what time it was on Capital World. Definitely after midday, he figured, which meant it was just about evening time on Vegetasei and on Earth already.
"Okay, let's get going then!" Bulma said, stretching out her arms and her back. The booth they had been in turned out to be too inviting and comfortable for their liking, and after their meal they forced themselves to get going, otherwise they might have remained there for even longer. Not that she would have minded. The quality time together was something she dearly missed with him. Her train of thought was broken when Vegeta's tail suddenly wrapped around her waist and she was quickly pulled against him. "Hey, no need to be rough…" she began, only to notice a serious, stern look on his face as he quickly raised two fingers to his forehead.
Vegeta had just enough time to see the looks of utter surprise on Raditz and Nappa's faces, as well as the apologetic look on Goku's face, as they helplessly watched him quickly teleport off of Capital World with Bulma in tow. The prince had sensed Goku's strong ki around the corner…as well as the ki's that belonged to his bodyguards. So much for thinking they had him cornered.
The scenery changed around Vegeta and Bulma in a blur of speed, as they found themselves on the dark, industrial planet of Xyneon. It was a rugged planet that held one sun and two moons in the sky. The ground was charcoal and auburn colored, the terrain full of mountains and endless hills, with no real plant life around except for tall, dark, ominous trees as big as redwoods. It definitely was a mining and industrial planet, as off in the short distance were the refineries and mills.
"A little warning would have been nice, you know." Bulma huffed as she gently put a hand on her stomach, feeling a slight wave of nausea.
"That's what you get for stuffing yourself." Vegeta smirked as he uncurled his tail around her stood serious for a moment, wondering if Kakarot was going to be able to find his ki signal again. He was sure he would, he just didn't know how much time he had until he did.
Bulma gathered her bearings and looked around. "Where are we?"
"On Xyneon."
"Nice! Just cut out the middle man and head straight to the source. I like how you think, sometimes, you know that?" Bulma said as she searched around for the refinery. "Oh, there it is.." she said as she began to head to the building. "So mind telling me what in the hell was the sudden rush to get here?" she asked, her voice trailing off as she walked away from him.
Vegeta continued to concentrate on trying to sense Goku's ki, which he couldn't feel. Good. That meant that Goku would likewise take a while to find his own ki also. It was an eternal universe, after all. He wouldn't know what direction he had gone in. Satisfied that they were a handful of galaxies away from Capital World, he diverted his attention from escaping his captors, and followed after Bulma. "Your best friend and my bodyguards, that's what." he answered her as he caught up to her.
"Goku?" Bulma questioned, giving him a puzzled look. "What do they want? What's going on?" she asked, not having seen them appear on Capital World in the few seconds before they left it.
"Nothing. They want me back on Vegetasei. They should have learned by now that I return when I want to, not when they say." the prince grumbled as they neared the entrance to a very large warehouse.
"Oh…well maybe you should get back home then." Bulma reasoned. "I mean, you're busy, I'm sure you're needed. It must be important if they're trying to find you. Don't worry, I've got the credits now…go home and send Goku with me, I know I can finish up here."
"You're insane woman, I'm doing no such thing." Vegeta said stubbornly.
"Oh for Kami's sake, Vegeta." Bulma groused, rolling her eyes and quickly giving up on the subject as they approached a very tall creature that resembled a cross between an ogre and bodybuilder. "Riko!" she greeted the creature, giving him a big hug as the creature carefully hugged her back.
"Bulma! It's good to see you, little one." Riko greeted back. He saw the prince standing off the side, his arms crossed across his chest, looking somewhat displeased. "Ah, Prince Vegeta, an honor." he said, bowing before the prince. "This is a rare and unexpected visit, but welcomed nonetheless. What brings you both to my factories? Does the Empire have any production or delivery issues that I am unaware of?" he said the last part somewhat nervously, wondering if some of his underlings had gone and done something to warrant a personal visit from the Saiyan prince and the human engineer.
Vegeta nodded his head as a greeting. "No, Riko. We're here on a personal matter. The woman needs to buy an insane amount of metals and supplies."
"Ah, I see." the ogre commented, feeling a flood of relief. "Let me guess, for his gravity room?" Riko said slyly to Bulma, earning a giggle from her.
"You guessed it! You know, half our orders from the palace are materials for repairs and upgrades to that damned machine he loves so much…" Bulma joked as she hooked her arm with Riko's, and they began to walk into the warehouse together. She turned her head over her shoulder and gave Vegeta a teasing wink.
"It's not the materials that are at fault, I like to think it's the engineer." Vegeta smirked, following behind them.
"No, it's the operator." Bulma replied back. "I like to think it's user error."
"Do you really want to start this debate again?" Vegeta threatened lightly.
"Do you?" Bulma responded sarcastically, issuing him a challenge that he was ready to take on, until Riko interrupted them.
"Nice to see you both haven't changed." the gentle giant said. "That said, you know well that you both came to the right place. I will have anything you need, Bulma, anything from organic to semi-organic, to semi-metallic and the purest of metals and raw materials." he leaned down and spoke in a softer, hushed tone. "And even some new materials that haven't even been made available to the general public yet."
Bulma's eyes widened at the last comment. "That's great Riko, because I need lots of metals and materials! I have a lot of crazy ideas for what I want for his new gravity room, so maybe you can help me find what I'm looking for….. "
Vegeta quickly lost interest in their conversation as he followed them inside. He trailed behind them, but only for a short while, as he watched Bulma in one of her many elements. He kept a watchful and protective eye on her, all while maintaining his distance. All the technical crap never really interested him, but the woman and the foreman always had a field day when it came to metals and technology. He saw the sparkle in her eye her and Riko began to talk about what current and other, new, foreign materials were available, their purposed and intended applications, their range of ease when it came to shaping and production, and the availability of replacement if a component were to fail.
Time passed as Riko showed them the various raw supplies he had readily available, and led them to other private, sectioned off areas of the warehouse where they were keeping some of the most rare and unique raw materials. A whole new level of excitement hit Bulma once Riko began to show her samples of the foreign, unfamiliar metals he had, and while she and Riko were distracted and engrossed in their conversation, the prince had decided that now would be a good as a time as any to leave. Without so much as a warning, he touched two fingers to his forehead and teleported off of Xyneon.
The duo had finished walking through the private sector that held the rare and new metals, and they remained there, discussing estimated measurements on whichever materials she was interested in, as well as the quantity, on top of calculating the cost. As Bulma discussed pricing, she glanced over to see where Vegeta was, and didn't see him around anywhere. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit, thinking he was probably prowling around the warehouse somewhere, taking a look at all the materials and metals, and overseeing how things were being run. Shrugging it off, she continued talking business with Riko.
A short time later, Vegeta, having returned from wherever he had gone to, casually leaned his shoulder against a stack of metals. He crossed his arms across his chest and one ankle over the other as his tail uncurled and slowly swayed, patiently waiting for the business talk to be over with, and for the transactions to begin. He took the time to study Bulma, and saw how focused and serious she was about this. She was trying her best to make him a quality gravity room that would actually last him. Not only that, but she was trying not to break the bank either, so to speak. It wasn't hard to miss the underlying excitement she had. Despite her complaints, he knew she would enjoy building him his new gravity room, not only to make him happy, but as a personal challenge to herself.
She really was an extraordinary woman, he admitted to himself. She was highly intelligent, unbelievably beautiful…not that he would ever admit that out loud. She was wealthy, powerful, and famous in her own right, not only on her planet but also increasingly throughout the universe. She had a kind and forgiving heart, yet at the same time she could be a fiery tempest, for her temper rivaled even his own at times. She was hard-working, loyal, and such a challenge, he mused. That was what really mattered. The Saiyan females…they were all the same. All so damned respectful to him, never wanting to anger him or challenge him. Not one he had met could keep up with his intelligence, or his temper. All of them so willing and eager to bow down before him. They were so compliant. All of them simply vying for the throne and the opportunity to be the princess and future queen of Vegetasei. But not Bulma. From the start, she was a challenge. She always looked him in the eye, always refused to back down from a fight with him, always called him out on whatever it was she thought he was doing wrong, always rivaled him when it came to brains and wit. She would never become subservient to him. She would always continue to look him in the eye and think herself to be his equal. And yes, she was his equal, and had always treated her as such. Bardock was right. She would make a good mate for him.
Bulma had looked around again to see where Vegeta was, and saw him standing off to the side, casually leaning against a stack of metal, watching them. Or watching her, rather. The soft look on his face…it was not what had made her nervous. It was the smolder in his eyes as his dark orbs locked with her blue ones.
She should be mine….the animal within him insisted, all the while his rational mind reminded him that she had chosen another.
Bulma excused herself from Riko, and walked over to Vegeta. "Hey you, where'd you run off to?" she asked as she neared him, looking at him… trying to get a read on him. His demeanor was calm, and he continued to look at her with that soft, smoldering look that made those butterflies that she thought were long gone start acting up again.
He searched her face, and what he was looking for, Bulma had no clue. "Are you almost done?" he asked, his voice a dulcet tone, dodging her question as he looked into those impossibly blue eyes.
"Yeah, almost, just need to get the materials capsulated and pay." she responded, wondering what had gotten into him, and why he was looking at her strangely. "Why?" she asked softly, his mysterious behavior contagious as she stepped closer to him.
Vegeta didn't respond right away. Instead, he pushed off his shoulder from the stack of metals he had been leaning against, and instead asked her a question. "How tired are you, woman?"
"What?" Bulma stated, surprised at the off-handed question. "Um…I'm okay. Could use some coffee though, it never hurts…especially if you want me getting started on your machine right away. I figure I can at least start working on the blueprints and schematics for your gravity room tonight."
Satisfied that she still intended to work on his machine, even though it was getting late back on their respective planets, he took a step closer to her. "You're not working on it tonight." and with that, he uncrossed his arms, and in one of his hands held two gold-inlaid invitations.
Bulma looked at the invitations dumbly at first, before reading them and realizing that they were for the AR-158 event on planet Demesor. She gasped in surprise. "Oh my gosh Vegeta…" she trailed off, having a hard time believing that he went and made the effort to actually get the passes for them. "You…you got the invitations?"
"Observant, aren't we?" Vegeta gave her a teasing smirk, to which she playfully smacked his arm, before hugging it.
"Well, now I know where you went off to." she smiled as she took the passes from him and glanced over them. "I can't believe you're taking me."
"Who said I was going? Find someone else to take."
"Ha ha." Bulma replied sarcastically. "Like who?"
"Well you could always take that idiot fiancée of yours." Vegeta told her, secretly pleased when he watched her crinkle her nose in displeasure.
"No way! He could never appreciate something like this. I'd much rather go with you any day." she replied as she handed the invitations back to him and flashed him a flirtatious wink.
"Well then woman, get those materials capsulated, pay Riko, and let's get going." then prince said, gently pushing her away from him, trying to get her to walk back toward Riko's direction.
"Gosh, you've been pushy lately." Bulma told him, as she reached into the back pocket of her skirt and took out her capsules. "How about I start this," she said, holding them up, "and you can pay Riko?"
"Fine. I better not have a heart attack when I see the bill." he warned.
"We can afford it." Bulma smirked, seeing Vegeta roll his eyes. "By the way I'm horrendously underdressed." she said, glancing down at herself. "It's such a fancy affair, and I can't go looking like this. We're going to have to head back home so I can change…." she began to ramble distractedly.
"Tick tock, woman." the prince reminded her, affection hidden deep in his eyes as he pointed to an imaginary watch on his gloved wrist. "You're wasting time standing here."
"Oh, right." Bulma said, inwardly bursting with excitement as she hurried back to Riko to let him know what they were buying. Armed with her capsules, Bulma condensed tons of metals and materials into them, and Vegeta paid their hefty bill.
"Oh my!" Bunny yelped out, some of her popcorn falling from her bowl as it was jostled from her surprise as her daughter and Vegeta suddenly appeared in the living room in front of her. "You two scared the living daylights out of me!' she chuckled, picking up the popcorn from the carpet.
"Oops, sorry mom." Bulma apologized, as she removed herself from Vegeta's arm and went to go help her pick up the popcorn. "His Instant Transmission is going take me some getting used to also."
Both women looked over at the prince, who stood with a proud smirk on his face, before turning their attention back to each other. "What are you two doing back here?" Bunny couldn't help but ask in genuine confusion. Perhaps she was giving something away by her question, but according to the plan they were supposed to be off of Earth for the whole day and night. Thank goodness Yamcha had left approximately half an hour ago, after waiting for Bulma all day and well into the early night! He had been highly frustrated and utterly pissed off as the hours continued to pass by without an appearance by her. Bunny had warned him, though.
"Oh, we're not staying long. We had to come back and change." Bulma began, before Vegeta interrupted her.
"You're changing. I'm going like this."
Bulma placed her hands on her hips, and gave him a scolding look. "No you're not! You've been in that outfit all day, you need to change out of it."
"If you think I'm wearing a damned tuxedo or suit, you can think again." he threatened.
"No, you don't have to wear human clothes, Vegeta. You do have different sets of armor here, you know. I'm sure you have something that is appropriate and that doesn't scream 'blood and glory'." Bulma said.
"Woman, all my armor screams 'blood and glory.'"
"Then wear a tuxedo."
"I'd rather drop dead than to wear one of those."
"Oh for Kami's sake, just find something…" Bulma urged as she walked over to him and shoved him towards the stairs.
"God dammit…" Vegeta grumbled in complaint, "Fine. I better not hear you bitch about what I pick…" he told her as he went up the stairs and headed to his room to take a quick shower and change into a different set of armor. If he didn't, he knew that woman wouldn't shut up about it all night.
Satisfied, Bulma beamed brightly at her mom after Vegeta had disappeared around the corner.
"Well now, don't you have a pleased look on your face? Have a good day today?" Bunny asked as casually as she could, sitting back down on the couch, her movie forgotten about as she wanted to hear how their day went.
"Yeah." she said rather happily. "It's been a good day so far. Not sure it was going to be at first, though. Vegeta's gravity room was completely destroyed…"
"Oh dear, that's not good." Bunny said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.
"No, it's not, but it's okay. Things actually turned out to work for the better. I'm going to build him a new one! A bigger, better one. He's been long overdue." Bulma said, her excitement evident. "We've been out and about for the most of the day. We went to the bank to get the credits to buy everything he needed, and we ended up having a long lunch, too. We had to go to Xyneon to buy the materials for his new gravity room. We ended up staying there for a few hours."
"Wow sweetie, sounds like you've had a busy day." Bunny smiled up at her, secretly glad that their plan had worked and that they spent time together. Then again, it didn't seem like it was exactly the 'quality' time she was hoping for them. Call her crazy, but she was expecting that they would realize that they were in love and would go and elope in a wild, crazy moment of absolute insanity. "So then, where are you two going, since you're getting dressed up?"
"Oh, Vegeta's got invitations for this amazing meteor shower happening on another planet! It's some sort of big, fancy event, that's why we had to come back and get ready. Well, I had to come back…he would have gone dressed as he was…." Bulma began, when Vegeta interrupted her.
"Get a move on, woman! I don't want to be waiting on you for half the night!" he shouted from his bedroom.
"Okay, okay, I'm going!" she shouted back, before turning her attention back to her mom. "By the way, did I miss anything important while I was gone?"
Well, there was the wedding dress fitting that she needed to have done today. And her fiancée that had been there almost all day waiting for her. "No, nothing really." Bunny covered up. Her daughter's mind was not on her wedding or on Yamcha, but instead on an evening out with Vegeta…and that was just fine with her.
"Oh okay…well I'm gonna hop in the shower real quick and get dressed. Vegeta will be pissed if we're any later than we're already going be." Bulma chirped as she flashed her mother a brilliant smile, turning to hurry up the stairs and into her room to get showered, changed, and primped.
Bunny smiled and reclined back into the couch, grabbing her popcorn and returning to her movie. It felt good when a plan fell into place. Now if only they could have an amazingly romantic night together and finally realize they were in love, then she could focus on having them give her beautiful grandbabies next.
"Well, don't you look very handsome." Bunny said with a knowing smile on her face as Vegeta walked down the stairs, dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit, wearing his white and golden chest plate, gold-tipped boots, his red cape draped over his forearm. He was adjusting his white gloves over his hands as he glanced around, frowning as he didn't see Bulma down there in the living room yet.
"I'm always handsome." Vegeta responded as he shook out his cape and brought it behind him, clasping one corner into place on his shoulders, and then the other.
"Here, let me help you with that, sweetheart." Bunny offered as she stood up from the couch and walked over to him, helping him undo some ruffles near the clasps and smooth out the cape. "Need to have you looking pristine for your romantic night out with my daughter."
He shot her a disconcerting look. "It's not a romantic night out." the prince assured, trying to inch away, feeling claustrophobic from all the mothering Bunny was giving him as she made sure he was looking his best.
"It could be." she stated simply, reaching up and smoothing a stray strand of hair on his head. "You never know."
"Tch, not likely." Vegeta responded tersely. "She can consider this event her wedding gift for all I damn well care."
Bunny crinkled her nose. "That's surprising. I didn't think you were supportive of her marrying Yamcha."
"I'm not." he responded gruffly.
"Have you told her that?" Bunny asked.
"I'm sure she knows." he replied, as a stern look crossed his face as he glanced at the clock. It was getting late, and he did not like the direction this conversation was going. "Woman, hurry up!" he barked.
"One more minute!" Bulma's voice rang out, earning an irritated sigh from the prince.
Bunny couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't we women drive you crazy?"
"Yes." Vegeta answered, and decided to take matters into his own hands by heading back up the stairs. What was the point of taking her to this event if she was going to end up missing it? He didn't bother knocking on her door as he barged in, an annoyed frown on his face. "Woman, what the hell is taking so long?"
Bulma gave a half-hearted sigh as he entered her room. "Being beautiful takes time, you know."
"Woman, you don't have enough time in the world." he baited, seeing her look absolutely beautiful.
She was wearing a gorgeous silk formal gown that was the color of midnight blue, making her pale skin color and light blue hair and eyes stand out. It had a v-shaped neckline, and a moderate v-shaped back. It had a beautiful wrap around her waist which gathered into an elaborate design that rested over her right hip. Her makeup was done to perfection, and her blue hair had been semi-curled and pinned up into a beautiful up-do, which she was finishing up.
"I swear, you're such a jerk sometimes." she tried not to smile at his attempt to rile her up as she placed her curling iron down and turned it off, swiftly grabbing a diamond-tipped bobby pin and expertly placing the last section of hair up. "Alright I'm just about ready.." she trailed off, putting on her diamond earrings and bracelets, as she finally looked up at him through the reflection of her mirror. She had expected him to change, but not into such a formal-looking set of armor. Kami, he was gorgeous. Probably too damn handsome for his own good. "You look good." she couldn't help but compliment, her eyes skimming over his physique.
"I know I do." he replied back with an arrogant smirk, walking further into her room toward her as his eyes quickly roamed over her dress and the exposed areas of her body as she stood up, watching her give herself one last look in the mirror. She was unexplainably beautiful to him. He had seen her dressed up plenty of times…so just what was so special about her tonight?
"See something you like?" Bulma asked, perking an eyebrow up in a teasing challenge, the way he had done to her earlier that morning. For a better effect, she did a slight twirl in front of him, so he could see the back of her dress. It was classy and tasteful, …and she was a tease, she knew, picking a dress that showed off just enough to catch someone's eye.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Vegeta cleverly replied back, his gaze meeting hers.
"Hmmm….actually I would like to know." Bulma replied in a soft tone, taking a step even closer to him, mirroring their exact banter from earlier that day. Her breath hitched in her throat for a moment as that same smoldering look returned in his eyes.
Or perhaps the look in his eyes simply reflected her very own.
"Hn. Maybe someday." was all Vegeta could manage to say as she neared even closer to him. In a brave move, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him an inviting look. It was his turn to have a feeling of apprehension hit him, since he was unsure about what Bulma was about to do.
"Well, tick tock, my prince. I'm waiting on you now. You don't want us to be late, do you?" she said softly, momentarily regaining control of her sudden and unexplainable urge to kiss him.
"How in hell did you turn this back around on me, woman?" Vegeta questioned softly as he forced himself to regain his senses. What the hell were they doing?! What was she doing to him?! She gave him a sultry smile, and somehow he pushed down the impulsive urge to kiss her. He couldn't explain his behavior as he possessively put an arm around her waist and brought her close…a move, he noticed, that she did not protest against at all. Vegeta was about to raise his fingertips to his forehead and teleport them to Demesor, when Bunny's voice suddenly cut in.
"Have a good night, you two." she said in a sickeningly sweet tone as Vegeta and Bulma turned their heads at the sound of her voice, the both of them looking like they had been caught-off guard….or at least looking like they were guilty of something. Hadn't they noticed that she had been standing at the door for the past few moments? She watched them both blush slightly from embarrassment.
"Night." they quickly said, as Vegeta quickly placed his fingertips to his forehead and they suddenly vanished into thin air.
The grin remained on Bunny's face as she turned and began to head the opposite direction down the long hallway, making her way to her own bedroom. She was feeling giddy and quite pleased. They were very much in love with each other. She knew it! And if luck would have it, they would give her a grandchild soon.
Her daddy couldn't repair her favorite toy that got broken. The pieces were too small and damaged. And if her dad couldn't fix it, then no one else in the world could.
Bulma sat outside under a tree, her knees hugged up to her chest, her arms crossed over the tops of her knees. Her toy was special….it was the first one she had ever built completely by herself. With the push of a button, it could turn into three different shapes…a unicorn, a dragon, and a dinosaur. She had built it when she was 4...how was she going to remember how to rebuild it from scratch, when that was a few years ago?
Small steps approached her, and she turned her body away, not wanting to talk to him. "Go away." she told him, holding back another sniffle.
"I told you, I hate it when you cry." the young prince told the blue-haired girl. "Saiyan girls don't cry."
"I already told you, I'm not Saiyan." a young Bulma responded in a hurt tone.
The young prince sighed. "I know." He paused for a moment, before kneeling down beside her. "This isn't your toy, but this should stop your crying."
Bulma sniffled a bit as she looked at him, and saw the device he held out in her hand to her. "What is it?"
"It shows you different planets and constellations. These buttons show you the planets' names and where they are located. This one here gives you basic information on it, and this one shows you the stars and their locations also."
"That's neat." Bulma said, quickly forgetting her sadness as she took the small square device from him. "Thanks Vegeta." she said, smiling up at him as she reached over and gave his arm a hug.
"Don't get used to it." he replied in a grumble, letting her hug his arm for a moment before pulling it away. "Your mom says dinner is ready." he said, standing up, holding out his hand to help her up.
"Good, I'm hungry." Bulma said, taking his hand and letting him help her up. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm almost always hungry." the young prince responded, earning a giggle from the girl.
"Yeah, you are." she agreed.
"I'm not sure about those two." Dr. Brief commented as he continued to watch his young daughter and the young alien prince outside in the backyard.
"Oh, aren't they just adorable together!" Bunny gushed, placing plates of food down on the table. "Maybe if we're lucky, they'll grow up and fall in love."
"You wouldn't mind having an alien prince as a son-in-law?" Dr. Brief asked his wife.
"Of course not! Would you?"
He thought it over for a moment. "No, I suppose not. As long as he treated her well." he rationalized.
"Sure he will. Vegeta is a strong, smart boy, and he'll grow up to be an outstanding man. They get along so well already." Bunny said endearingly.
"For the most part." Dr. Brief began. "Lately they have been bickering a lot."
"I'm sure it's just a phase." Bunny reassured.
"I'm sure you're right, dear. After all, they seem to get over their fights rather quickly, and they are right back to playing with each other and being quite the chatter boxes.
Bunny walked over to the window, and watched their daughter and the young prince together. "He's a sweet boy, even though he can be temperamental at times. Look, he even gave Bulma one of his own possessions, just to make her happy again."
"True." Dr. Brief paused. "Look at them, dear. Just look at them. Neither one of them are even 10 years old yet, and already that boy would do anything for her."
"That's not such a bad thing, is it?" Bunny reasoned.
"I'm not sure yet." Dr. Brief answered honestly. "I might start to worry when she starts to do anything for him also."
"I think that's called love, sweetheart." Bunny said, placing an affectionate peck on his cheek. "Now call them inside, their food is getting cold."
I think I've fallen in love with my story all over again. You have no idea how much I loved writing this chapter! And it was a long one too…I didn't realize how long it was until I saw the word count.
I hit over 200 reviews awhile ago, so thank you to each and every one of you who leave reviews and continue to give me a reason to write! I hope you liked this chapter! I'd appreciate if you took a moment to let me know what you thought about it!
Chapter 14 is currently a work in progress. Just to let you know, you're probably going to love it. Who knows what is going to happen. After all, the chase may finally lead up to the catch.