DISCLAIMER: YOU ALREADY KNOW IT AIN'T MINE. NO NEED TO RUB IT IN

Chapter 4

Three Months Later….

Yamcha was flying over West City heading to Capsule Corp. to join the Briefs for breakfast as per Bulma's request. The sky was a beautiful light blue with the sun peeking over the cotton white clouds. It was a great morning, only to be made perfect by the prospect of seeing his loving girlfriend.

For the past three months he and Bulma had been going out more often, hanging out and having fun together just like the old days. Like Bulma, he too had noticed that their relationship was beginning to fizzle out, threatening to come to an end. He was happy that they were trying to strengthen their bond although he did notice that their more intimate moments were few and far in between.

'It doesn't matter though.' Yamcha thought to himself. 'As far as I'm concerned everything's going pretty damn ace in my books.'

Except….

He noticed that, over time, Vegeta had been around a whole lot more than he expected. Scratch that, Vegeta had been around BULMA a lot more than he'd expected. Or liked for that matter. In the beginning he wrote it off as paranoia. 'I mean, the guy did kill people for a living. Of course I was gonna think that he was planning to hurt Bulma in some way. I mean who would blame me for being a little uneasy.'

However, as he began to pay more attention to him, he realised that Vegeta wasn't going after Bulma, not in the way he originally feared. No, it was the opposite. He saw the dark lust that burned in the Prince's onyx eyes, lust that was directed at Bulma. Other times when he went to see Bulma at her lab, Vegeta would be walking out with a smug look on his face that only intensified when he saw Yamcha about to walk in. 'Weakling' he would say in mock greeting, but it was the way he said it that put him on edge. Almost as if he knew something Yamcha didn't.

The worst part was that Bulma would always look a little shaken after their encounters. It pissed him off that Vegeta made Bulma feel like her personal space has been invaded. Yamcha would try and question her about it, just needing one little bit of information and he could get that asshole kicked out of the property but Bulma would promise that he was just behaving like 'he had a stick up his ass' and that he's just being his usual pompous self. Afterwards, Yamcha would make it his mission to get Bulma's mind off of that dickwad.

Even if Bulma couldn't see it, Yamcha was 100% certain that Vegeta wanted Bulma. He had no doubt about it. Yamcha wasn't too worried though, he trusted Bulma and was confident that their relationship was strong enough that Vegeta didn't stand a chance with the woman he loved. 'That stupid Saiyan honestly thinks he's got a chance with Bulma. He's off his fucking rocker. She'd never go for him. Besides, he's too short and his ego could use a serious knock or two', Yamcha snickered.

He saw the large yellow dome closing in and flew in, landing casually on the ground. As he walked to the door he heard the hum of the gravity chamber, Vegeta was obviously inside killing himself as usual. "That guy's a total wackjob. I bet he sleeps in there as well," He said. Yamcha was still bitter over the incident where he almost got crushed in the chamber trying to prove he could train just like Vegeta did. So every time he saw it, he always made sure to make some kind of snide comment.

He let himself in and followed the sounds of Mrs Briefs' happy chatter to the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile hearing her jovial stories. She always knows how to put a smile on anyone's face. Yamcha walked and greeted all the occupants of the kitchen.

"Hey Dr Briefs, Mrs B." He said with a wave.

"Morning my boy." Dr Briefs greeted politely.

"Oh why good morning Yamcha!" Mrs Briefs said enthusiastically. "You're just in time for breakfast! A strong young man like yourself needs all the fuel he can get to keep his great shape!"

"Thanks Mrs B," Yamcha said sheepishly, a light pink tint gracing his cheeks.

He walked to the table and sat next to his girl. "Morning babe," he whispered low in her ear and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Morning Yamcha," she whispered back, giving him a sweet smile. They continued talking while Bunny laid all the food on the table. Bulma asked if she could help but her mother waved a dismissive hand, telling her not to worry and just relax.

Yamcha cleared his throat, catching Bulma's attention again. "Hey, there's something I need to tell you. It's kinda important."

Bulma raised her eyebrows, curiosity showing on her face, "What's up?"

Just as he was about to speak, he felt eyes burning the back of his head. He didn't have to turn to acknowledge the presence he felt. Mrs Briefs did for him. "Good morning Vegeta!" Of all the times….

"AHHHHH!! HAAAA!! TAKE THIIIIS!"

Vegeta was crouched in the chamber that was set at three hundred times earth's gravity, his sharp eyes never leaving the three battle bots as they moved around, formulating their own plan of attack. He jumped up into the air and punched right through one of them, disintegrating it on the spot. The other two had followed him up and were currently playing volleyball with an energy blast in between them at dazzling speed. Any second now one of them was going to direct it at him. He had to be alert!

The blast came to him just as he anticipated. He caught it with his hand and threw it at the other bot, which it managed to dodge. However, not a second later he sent out a powerful blast of his own to the distracted machine, destroying it immediately.

He landed on the ground and quickly turned to face the remaining opponent. He quickly ran towards it as it began to power up, preparing another attack. Just as it was about to release the beam, the Prince phased behind it and sent his fist through the bot, sparks flying all over the place. He retracted his fist and the useless machine fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Vegeta landed gracefully on his feet, panting for breath. He was victorious.

But he didn't feel like it at that moment.

"Dammit! What more do I have to do?! I've already bested three times gravity, I've gotten stronger than Frieza in his final form. What the hell am I missing?!" He was so close to Super Saiyan, he could almost taste it. But it continued to stay out of his reach. He could hear Kakarot's mocking laughter in the back of his mind, taunting him with his constant failure. He wouldn't let this carry on much longer. He would become a Super Saiyan if it was the last thing he did!

Vegeta was suddenly distracted by a certain ki in the distance. A sneer broke out on his lips when he felt who it belonged to. "Oh wonderful. It's that weakling again. Doesn't he have anywhere else to be except under the woman's skirt?!"

His already foul mood took a nosedive into the pits. He was getting really sick of that halfwit and his constant presence. If he had his way, he would've blasted him to hell and back.

He looked at the digital clock next to the gravity indicator.

'8:00am? I've been here for four hours already?'

As if to confirm his thoughts, his stomach released a loud growl. Curse him and his need to eat! If it were up to him, he wouldn't need to take breaks. Then he could ascend faster!

"Power off!" He said. The hum of the gravity room died down. It was time for him to go and replenish his strength so he could come back and try again. There were less than three years before those tin cans made their appearance. There was no time to waste. Vegeta left the chamber and walked across the yard to the kitchen, his permanent scowl fixed on his face. He walked in and was immediately greeted by the woman's ditzy mother.

"Good morning Vegeta!" He grit his teeth minutely. This woman's voice was enough to drive him up the wall with its annoying high pitch.

"Good morning son," the old man greeted simply. He grunted in response to both their greetings and went to sit across the woman and the weakling. The woman had a blank expression on her face, betraying nothing. The beta male was looking at him with open disdain.

'The feeling's mutual dimwit.'

"Vegeta." The weakling acknowledged reluctantly.

"Yamchuck." He said with a straight face.

Bulma was less than impressed with the name he gave her 'boyfriend'. "His name is Yamcha, Vegeta," She said through gritted teeth.

Vegeta simply shrugged dismissively. He could care less what his name was. He should be pleased the Prince of all Saiyans was acknowledging his existence to begin with. He dished his portion (which was the equivalent of 10 human portions) and began to eat.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to face the beta male, "So what did you want to tell me that was so important?"

The fool looked over at him warily before facing the woman again. That peeked his interest but he was careful not to show it.

"So babe, I've noticed that my training isn't where it should be right now. I've barely made any significant progress. So I've decided that I'm going to train in the desert."

Oh really?? Perfect!

Though his face was blank, on the inside, he laughed darkly after hearing that tidbit of information. The woman however, was surprised.

"O-oh okay," Bulma stuttered out. She dreaded her next question but it needed to be asked. "For how long?" She really didn't like the look on his face now.

"For about a….year."

Oh this was too good to be true!

Gone for a whole year? Finally Vegeta would have zero hindrances in his chase for the woman. He's been biding his time for three months, constantly cornering her in her lab and sending her suggestive looks whenever she was around him. Even when she was busy with repairs in the gravity room, he would stay out of her sight but be present enough that she knew he was near, stalking her like a predator would his prey. Whether she chose to admit it or not, he knew that she got a dark thrill from it all. Today was suddenly looking a whole lot better.

Bulma couldn't say the same though.

"A year?!" The look on her face was priceless. She couldn't believe her ears. The woman glanced at him but quickly looked away when she noticed he was looking intently at her.

'I know what you're thinking Bulma. You and I are about to get to know each other much better soon enough.'

"Bulma I know it seems like a long time but it'll pass faster than you think.I'm doing this so that I can protect you from the androids when the time finally comes." Vegeta snorted at that. Yamcha gave him a dirty look before continuing, "I want to take this time to train at my hardest so that I can come stronger than ever."

Bulma wasn't letting up though, "Why can't you just train here? Or somewhere a bit closer, like one of the forests just outside the city? The desert is essentially on the other side of the planet!"

Mrs Briefs took that moment to interrupt. "Now Bulma, you have to understand why Yamcha's doing this. He just wants to keep you safe sweetie. Can you really be mad at him for that?" Bulma could only look at her mother in shock.

For once, Vegeta agreed with the ditzy woman. The farther the pathetic fool was from here, the better for him. For once, he was grateful the beta was as stupid as he was. He gave the Prince the perfect opening. And he had so much time to play with. Vegeta heard all he wanted to hear. It was time to get back to training. He suddenly had a lot of energy he wanted to burn.

He stood up, walked out of the kitchen and headed back to the gravity room. When he was halfway to the chamber, he heard the weakling calling out for him.

"Hey Vegeta!"

Oh for goodness sake.

Vegeta turned to face the beta male as he approached. "Look, just because I'm leaving for a while doesn't mean you can try anything funny with Bulma. If I come back and see even a hair on her head out of place, you'll be sorry you came back to Earth."

Really? Really? He can't be serious.

Vegeta didn't answer, he merely rolled his eyes and turned back towards the gravity room. He had more important things to worry about. Yamcha wasn't having it though. He roughly grabbed Vegeta by his shoulder and tried to turn him around, determined to get an answer.

Big mistake.

Next thing he knew, he was on his knees looking up at the Prince of darkness, who had a cold murderous look in his now dark crimson eyes and was choking the life out of Yamcha. His eyes bulged wide from the grip on his throat that was so tight he could feel his trachea slowly being crushed.

Vegeta leaned down slightly and said in a deceptively soft tone, "Listen and listen well weakling. You will never touch me in such a disrespectful manner again. Do you understand?" The pathetic fool couldn't do anything but gurgle in response. Vegeta smirked deviously at the panic in the idiot's eyes.

"By the way, the only way the woman's hair would be a mess is after I spent the night fucking her until she forgot your name." If that toad's eyes could've gotten any wider, it was at that moment.

"Vegeta stop!" The woman screamed. She was running towards the two warriors determined to make sure Yamcha didn't die again.

The Prince glanced over at her approaching figure , his eyes returning to their onyx shade, before looking down at the male before him. "Safe travels, boy." Vegeta flung him to the ground and walked into the gravity room. He had training to do.

Bulma was by Yamcha's side just after Vegeta walked into the gravity room. "Yamcha are you okay?!" She held his face in her hands. Yamcha was coughing violently, wincing in pain afterwards. It hurt to swallow. "I'm fine babe." He said in a raspy voice. He could tell he was going to be sporting a nasty bruise for a while.

"What the hell were you thinking challenging him like that?! Are you trying to get yourself killed before the androids show up?!" Bulma yelled.

"I was trying to make sure Vegeta didn't bother you while I was gone." Yamcha was none too pleased about Bulma reprimanding him. She didn't hear what that beast told him before she showed up.

"I can fight my own battles Yamcha," she said softly. "I promise I'll take care of myself. You can trust me. You don't have to worry, okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Okay." He smiled back tentatively.

He really hoped he wasn't making a mistake by leaving for so long.

It's not you I don't trust Bulma. It's that monster I don't trust.

Author's Note: Whewww!!! That was the longest chapter I've written to date. It was so fun to write though with everybody present in the story hahaha! Okay so two things I want to say. First, updates won't be as frequent cause I'm gonna be interning for about 5 weeks and the hours are insane so I'll probably be too tired to update as often as I have. I wanna make sure that I deliver my best work to you guys even if it takes a while to get it out. You deserve it. Secondly, I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving such wonderful comments on my story, both on FF and AO3. I really do appreciate it, from the bottom of my heart. You've made me feel so welcome as a first time author and it means the world. I love you guys!

Please review! Until next time! RR18