The entire corporation was filled with panicking scientists, each pausing only long enough to receive a new order from Bulma before moving on to their assigned task. It was of the utmost importance that things return to normal as soon as possible. After all, if they failed to meet the demands even once they risk the reputation of not only the company but the entire trading system.
Vegeta watched as Bulma searched through the entire compound looking for whatever it was that had brought what had happened. After two hours of searching, the solution was finally found: someone had changed one of the generator's sources to a much high voltage causing the entire thing to overheat and malfunction and much like a domino effect the rest of the generator's followed suit.
"I'm sure it was just an accident," Bulma stated as she stood back watching the final repairs being done.
"The generator just somehow switched to a different source at the opposite side of the room?"
"I refuse to believe that someone would purposely destroy our equipment. First off, they'd have to understand which power source would overheat the generator."
"You're not the only one in the universe with a voltage tester, Woman."
"Second, only employees are allowed into Capsule Corporation. Unless you're claiming that one of my own people sabotaged us then I don't see how else it could happen."
"You're underestimating the Cold Empire's resources and overestimating the loyalty of your own people. Even if everyone here is innocent, there is still the possibility of a shape shifter taking on the appearance of a human."
"Are there really shape shifters? Have you personally seen one?"
"I've never seen one that could change form entirely but I do know that one of the top soldiers in the Cold Empire has the ability to switch his psyche with another."
He noted that Bulma paled slightly at his confirmation. 'Good maybe she'll finally take things seriously.'
A sudden scream startled many of the scientists causing them to bump into each other and nearly knocking Bulma down had it not been for Vegeta catching her.
"What's going on?" Chichi asked.
An elderly lady clutching her heart looked down at the ground. "Nothing… I bumped into this bush and a mouse jumped out," she admitted clearly embarrassed.
Several people laughed realizing how silly the overreaction was and got back to work.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Briefs," the young man that bumped into her apologized as he dusted himself off before running back into the building.
Vegeta noted that Bulma continued to watch the door where the man ran off. "What is it?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something. In any case, I'm done here so we can go."
Vegeta looked at her for a moment with disbelief before picking her up. There were some things that he needed to think about himself.
Vegeta was glad for the distraction of the possible sabotage during the flight back. His control had nearly snapped every time the woman's fidgeting caused his fingers to brush her smooth skin. Each time he had reminded himself that he couldn't have her and that they were in an emergency situation but he eventually got to the point where he had to remind himself why those were important points.
Now she seemed to be considering the sabotage issue as much as he was since she wasn't trying to have a conversation with him or moving around as much. Due to the new factors, Vegeta barely realized that an hour had gone by until he saw the Palace come into view. Landing in the courtyard he looked down at Bulma.
"We're here, Woman. Get down." Vegeta jumped when he felt Bulma's warm forehead press against his neck. "What are you doing?" After not getting an answer he tried again. "Woman?"
"Ah, sorry I'm… just not feeling too good. I think today's work has finally caught up to me. Look, I know that you hate me but if it's not too much trouble, can you take me directly to my room. It feels like I'm going to fall asleep in the hallway if I try to walk."
Vegeta watched her for a few seconds before taking off to her room. 'So she wasn't thinking about the issue then. I'll have to make sure to harass her about that until she takes it seriously later.' Upon reaching the door, he set her down. He waited until she got her balance before taking a step back, watching as she swayed a bit while fumbling for her keys. 'Has she always been that pale?'
"Here we go. Room key," Bulma said aloud as if speaking made the object more real. After a few attempts she finally got the key into the lock and opened the door. "Thanks, Vegeta. I can make it from here."
"You're not doing a very good job of convincing me of that," Vegeta half-joked as he watched he sway again.
"I'm fine… I'm just tired. I'm going to go straight to bed now. G'night," she smiled with a noticeably distant look in her eyes before closing the door gently behind her.
Vegeta stood there for a few seconds before turning to walk down the hall. However after only a few steps a soft thump brought his attention back to the room.
Making his way back to the door he turned the handle, unsurprised that she hadn't bothered to lock it. He didn't have to look too far into the room to see Bulma collapsed on the ground. Sighing, he knelt down and shook her shoulder. "Woman, wake up. You can't sleep here," he chuckled a bit at her weakness.
His humor was cut short as he rolled her over and saw that her eyes were open. 'She isn't asleep then why did she…'
"Ve…Vegeta… I can't… I can't feel anything," Bulma mumbled in a cracked whisper.
"What do you mean?"
"I thought that it was just my arm, that it was tired from all the work I did… but now everything else feels numb."
Vegeta looked down at her arm, turning it slightly until he noticed that there was a small wound, nearly invisible to the naked eye. "Damnit, Woman, why didn't you say something?" He yelled as he jumped up and hit the emergency button.
"Is there a problem, Ms. Briefs?"
"Send medical help here now! The Woman has been poisoned!"
"Right away, Prince Vegeta."
Vegeta glared at the intercom knowing that it'd be less than five minutes for the medical crew to get here but still feeling as if that wasn't fast enough.
"Vegeta… are you still here?"
He looked over at her. "Yes, Woman."
"Please… don't leave me…," Vegeta flinched at the plea. If he hated the sight of her in emotional pain, seeing her in physical pain was much worse. He knew that he shouldn't get too close, in case the poison could be spread by touch, but he couldn't stop himself from kneeling next to her again.
He watched as she stared blankly up at him with a smile. 'Why is she smiling? Is the poison affecting her mind?'
"Your Father was right," she said weakly to him.
Vegeta blinked, wondering if he heard her correctly. "What?"
"Four years ago… after you stormed off during the first day of work… I talked to your Father. I was… so furious that you knew so little about the real world. But your Father… he said that it was his fault because he saw the problem with the social system and was too afraid to change it. He said that you were a victim of the same system, trained since you were young that a person's worth was decided before they were born and not because of their actions. But he also said… that you were brave enough to break the cycle and learn about what this planet really needs."
"Woman, stop talking. You're wasting energy," Vegeta looked away to the door wondering what was taking the medical team so long.
"I thought he was putting too much faith in you. After all, you'd been raised for 23 years believing that everything should be given to you. Why would you bother taking the time to learn about how things really work? After seeing you storm off to train when such important work was to be done… not to mention you blaming me for harming others if I didn't work fast enough… made me think less of you. But since then, every time you come to check in on the work, you seem to know more and more about what needs to be done. Part of me was frustrated about it, seeing you getting an ego boost from pointing out when I didn't know everything, but I think… I think I was also impressed that you had gone to such lengths to make yourself a wiser person."
"I...," Vegeta's words caught in his throat at her compliment. He never imagined getting such words of praise from her. She hated him. She was almost always angry with him. She wouldn't have such positive thoughts about him. "You're being delusional, Woman." He looked away to the door again but jumped when he felt her hand touch his cheek. Slowly he turned, looking at the small smile on her face, not understanding why it was making his chest hurt so much.
"Your determination is admirable. Not many in your position would bother bettering themselves since they already think that they were the cream of the crop. You'll be a better king because of it. Even if you're a bit of a jerk, it's fun to argue with you every now and then. It's rare to find a challenge when you're known as the smartest being from your planet so by studying so much you've forced me to study more as well. I guess you can chalk up another win that you've made the genius woman have to work to keep her title."
His chest clenched again, the sweet words of praise coming from her stabbed through him each time.
Her hand moved along his cheek gently as if she was afraid he'd disappear if she moved too fast. "You're smart, strong, brave, not to mention that you're really quite handsome."
Vegeta's eyes widened at that comment. 'Is it possible... does she want me like I want her?' He'd held back for so long because he knew that he couldn't force her into anything but if she lusted for him then it wouldn't be so wrong, would it?
"You'll make a great husband one day, Vegeta," she finally lost the last of her energy, dropping her hand and closing her eyes as she spoke once more on the verge of passing out. "I'm sure you'll make some princess really happy."
Vegeta stared down at Bulma's pale face. He knew that he should be checking her pulse or waking her back up but he couldn't force himself to move. The tight feeling in his chest had him frozen in place, unable to comprehend anything outside of what she had just said.
Thankfully a knock at the door allowed him enough of an escape from her words to get up and let them in. He had stayed long enough to have the doctors confirm that it was poison. And not a common type of poison but a rare poison that could only be obtained in the Cold Empire that was specifically designed to take effect an hour after the initial wound was made and disappear entirely from the body leaving no trace. It was more than enough reason to declare war on the Cold Empire so he made his way to confront his Father with the news.
The next day, shortly before the Saiyans were to take off, Bulma woke up. Vegeta leant against the wall outside her room in the medical ward listening to her speak with Kakarot and Chichi. He refused to go in himself.
"I can't believe that someone would try to poison me," Bulma shook her head in disbelief.
He could hear Chichi, near tears at the thought. "It's absolutely horrible, Bulma. Do you have any idea when it happened?"
"I remember working at Capsule Corp as clear as day but my memory gets a bit foggy trying to remember the trip back. I know that I made it into my room but after that, nothing. Anyway, Kakarot, you can't be going now. I mean, Chichi's likely to give birth any day now."
"I know, Bulma, but I've already made my decision. You've done so much for all of the Saiyans, for someone to attack you because of all the good you've done, it's unforgivable."
"But…," Bulma tried to argue.
"And it's not just me. Usually only the Elite class would be allowed on a mission like this but so many from the other classes have joined together under the King's permission to stop this cruel game once and for all. I'm sorry if you disagree with my decision, but this is something we all have to do."
Tears ran down Bulma's face. Vegeta couldn't see it but he could sense it. He pushed away from the wall and made his way outside.
'So she doesn't remember our 'conversation'? How lucky for her,' Vegeta thought bitterly remembering each word perfectly.
She had praised him for how much he had learned in the past few years but the second that she had subtly suggested that she had feelings for him, perhaps equal to what he had for her, he had foolishly entertained the idea that they could possibly be together. But in the end, that was impossible. Because as great of a mate that he would one day be, he would only be allowed to mate someone within his own social class. Bulma wouldn't allow herself a single night of pleasure or even several nights of pleasure. She would likely only be with someone that could potentially be with her in the long term.
He realized how naive he still was. Because he had never actually gotten past this intense lust for her; because every time he teased her it was because he wanted her to be thinking about him at every possible moment. And because deep down, he had always assumed that he would be able to have her as his own, despite the social class rule.
To publicly pursue her would be seen as a slap in the face of tradition and despite his Father's belief that he was brave enough to change the system he couldn't. He wasn't willing to sacrifice his title as Prince for something as simple as lust and he wasn't brave enough to admit that it was more than lust that he was feeling for her.
All he knew was that every moment he saw her was killing him. He needed to put as much distance between them as possible but he couldn't trust himself to stay away. If anything he was a glutton for punishment and would try to ignore his slow death if it meant that he could continue to see her every day. So the only solution left was to make her stay away from him. While she may have put up with his insults in the past, he doubted that she would tolerate too much more of it. He just had to wait and find the right moment to strike making her never want to see him again.
And he would do it. Even if it meant making her hate him.