"Oh my! It sure is good to see someone with such a healthy appetite!" The curly-haired blond smiled happily, even clapping slightly. "Although he's hungrier than usual. I suppose you were training extra special hard last night?"

Bulma rolled her eyes at her clue-less mother and yawned. She glared at Vegeta who was currently gulping down food like there was no tomorrow. Pancakes, porridge, and eggs enough to fill a barn! Every time a dish emptied, her own mother would plop down a fresh plate.

"It's good you called me home for this 'emergency' darling!" Cooed the ditzy blond. "He is SO hungry today!"

Sighing, Bulma slumped in her chair, clutching the edges of her robe together protectively and tugging at her curls to help cover her bruised neck. "This isn't the 'emergency' I had in mind." She muttered disgustedly.

A pause in the eating. Bulma looked over at Vegeta. Had he heard?

The Saiyan belched and then started eating again, with renewed vigor.

Bulma closed her eyes and wondered if anyone would notice if she burst into tears.

"Oh dear!" Gasped her mother. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"

Bulma looked up to see her mother almost literally running in circles, picking up various objects. An empty dish, a used serving spoon, an un-used napkin. Finally she dipped the napkin in cold water and rushed her daughter.

"You've hurt yourself? Did you fall?" Bulma's mother dabbed delicately at the bruised flesh on her daughter's neck that to anyone else would have been instantly recognizable as a sizable hickey. "A second emergency! Should I call your father, dear?"

Vegeta even paused a moment at the word 'hurt' then smirked when he saw the proof of his dominance on his mate's skin. Without a word he went back to eating.

"I hate you all." Bulma gritted out the words from between her teeth, her eyes nearly crossing from the effort not to scream. What in the world had possessed her to call her mother anyway? Desperation? It's not like she could call Goku or Yamcha for this of all things! All of her friends seemed to be males, and ...and ... "I need a shower."

The young woman stomped off with all the delicacy of a water buffalo and steaming with temper.

The blond scratched her head. "Was it something I said?"

Vegeta finished off another bowl of food and reached for the next.

.III

Bulma let the hot water stream off her body in the shower. Tears pricked her eyes as she sighed deeply. It should only be so simple to wash the memories of the previous night from her mind.

What in the world had happened? She'd just had mind-blowing sex with one sexy Saiyan Prince. Okay. Not bad in itself. But then there was the fact that she was supposed to be dating Yamcha! Only, they had sort of broken up.

What next? Oh yes. Learning that the Saiyan Prince in question wasn't interested in her, only in getting a son and heir. Yep. That was something NOT to forget. She could have been anyone, anyone at all. It probably didn't matter at all to him. A warm body. That's all she was to him.

And then there was Yamcha, who would never forgive her. Never. Nor should he. Bulma groaned, letting her head drop forward so the water washed down her back. Deliberately she turned her head slightly so that the water hit directly on the spot where Vegeta had marked her. Dratted male!

And what was the biting all about anyway? Bulma squeezed her eyes tighter, somehow horribly sure that it was some sort of symbol of domination. Ownership. But what about when he'd seemed to want her to bite him? That wasn't the same thing. Bulma opened her blue eyes and rolled her shoulders slightly. Maybe she was looking at it all wrong.

.III

Vegeta sighed in contentment. He was full of decent food. His new bride was upstairs and possibly pregnant. And he was about to go train for a fight of tremendous proportions. One that might leave him dead. The Saiyan smiled. Life couldn't get sweeter.

"You eat nearly as much as Goku!" Bubbled the blond next to him.

The Prince frowned. "Nearly? Nearly as much?" The frown turned into a snarl. "Bring me a dozen more bowls, woman!"

Bulma's mother clapped her hands in delight. "So nice to have a man around to enjoy good cooking!" And as soon as I let Bulma know her young man is visiting the next batch of food will be ready to serve!"

Vegeta went very, very still. "Her young man?"

.III

Bulma's eyes popped open wide as she heard the bathroom door open behind her. It had to be her mother. It had to be. Please let it be ...

"WOMAN!"

Blue eyes shut with despair. "I'm taking a shower." She snapped at him, irrate.

The shower door clicked open and a furious looking Vegeta glared at her. "I know that, or I wouldn't be looking for you in here! Now, get out of the cleaning stall!"

Shrieking, Bulma tried to use her hands to cover exposed portions of her body. Only she didn't have enough hands!

"Did you sneak out and call that ...that ...puling weakling?" Vegeta's voice was harsh.

Temper flaring, Bulma stopped hiding her body and planted her fists on her hips, glaring at the male invading her privacy. "Yamcha?" She guessed.

"So you admit he's a weakling!" Vegeta yelled in triumph.

Bulma grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself, disregarding the still pounding shower water. "I do not, I'll only admit that you would call him one!"

"So, you did call him last night!" The Saiyan snarled.

Bulma shook her head. "Idiot! I have not called him and I don't sneak around!"

Vegeta leaned against the door of the shower, and gave her a once-over look. "You snuck out of our bed to call your mother home for an 'emergency'. I take it that I'm that 'emergency'."

Damn! He had been listening! Bulma blushed.

"Then why did he come by this morning?" Vegeta threw the question at her.

"Because he's my friend!" She yelled back at him, hoping that she was telling the truth and that she'd not ruined her friendship forever.

Vegeta shook his head in denial, rolling his lip as if smelling something rotten. "Not anymore. I told him you were my mate and he should leave you alone."

Bulma dropped her mouth open in shock. "You did what? You have no right ...wait! He was here? You saw him?" She suddenly felt sick to her stomach remembering the charred remains of Yamcha's pictures on the front lawn. "Is ...is ...he alive?" Her voice dropped in fear.

"I did not kill him, if that is what you're asking, woman." The Saiyan actually yawned. "But if he drops over and dies of fear that is not something I can control."

Hanging on to the fact that Yamcha was still alive, Bulma swallowed hard. "Why would he die of fear?"

"Because he's a weakling. Weren't you listening, mate?" Vegeta shook his head. "And I told him I'd kill him if he came around again."

"Yamcha isn't a coward." Bulma denied absently, knowing that the young Z fighter wasn't the bravest of their group. "I can't believe you did that."

"A mate should not call her former companion." Vegeta snapped back at her, then shook his head in disdain. "And you've soaked through that drying cloth."

Bulma shrugged. "It's a towel Vegeta. A towel. On Earth we don't call it a drying cloth."

"It's what it is." The Saiyan brushed off the lesson with a wave of his hand. He eyed the clinging towel appreciatively.

Bulma held up one hand as if to stop him, though her Prince hadn't actually moved toward her. "Don't you even think it."

"Too late." Vegeta grinned and stuck out one hand, snagging the towel with his forefinger. "I liked the view better without this drying cloth in the way."

"Towel." She corrected automatically, tugging on the cloth to keep him from pulling it from her. She was losing. "Vegeta! Stop this!"

The Saiyan tugged harder, pulling the towel from her nude body. He grinned. "Why? We're already mated."

"Yes. We had sex, I'll admit it!" Bulma steamed. "But that doesn't mean you own me."

Vegeta shrugged and pulled off his shirt, tossing it on the floor behind him.

Bulma's mouth went dry as she tried to remember all the reasons this was a BAD idea!

"I pleased you." Vegeta stated firmly, no question in his mind.

Gulping down air, Bulma managed a nod. It's not like she could deny that!

"You pleased me." He continued, snagging her hand to drag her out of the cleaning stall.

Oh yes. Bulma's eyes snapped into a glare. "I pleased you?"

Her sudden turn of temper confused him. He'd just complimented his mate. This was a problem, how? Vegeta glared back at her.

"I PLEASED YOU?" She screeched. "You just want a son!" The young woman pushed at him, coming out of the shower as nude as the day she was born.

"I could have been anyone! Any female capable of carrying a child. It didn't matter to you who I was or anything!" She was on a roll now!

Vegeta though didn't like being yelled at. He spun her around, picked her up and flew-bounced into the bedroom, tossing her on the bed.

Bulma squealed. "You have to stop doing that!"

"You're my mate!" He roared at her.

"This is not how to treat someone you're mating!" Bulma yelled back and kicked at him, though she came no where close to striking him.

"I do if she calls another man into her life!" The Saiyan growled, glaring at her harshly.

Bulma stilled. "I didn't call him." She said almost gently. It was a huge moment as she realized with sudden clarity, the Saiyan was jealous. "I only called my mother."

Vegeta blinked at her, his temper banking only slightly. "He showed up here today."

Bulma shrugged. "We fought yesterday. And he left me here with you ...kissing me. He was probably just checking on me."

"I would never hurt my mate."

Bulma frowned. Mate was another word for sex, but the Saiyan wasn't using it like that at all. It was almost like a title.

"He didn't know that." She said almost gently. "You weren't always on our side of things."

Vegeta frowned, his temper simmering down a bit lower. "He is your former companion."

"Boyfriend." Bulma said. "The Earth word is boyfriend."

The sneer returned. "He is nothing but a boy." He nodded in agreement.

Sighing, Bulma realized she'd probably never change Vegeta's mind on the subject. She watched as the Saiyan sat down on the side of the bed and started to remove his boots.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked, pretty sure she already knew.

Vegeta didn't answer. His meeting with Yamcha had left him unsettled. He hadn't killed the young man as Saiyan law said you couldn't murder your mate's former companions. It would deplete the ranks of their warriors too much if they let that happen all the time.

But leaving the boy alive and calling on his mate ...rankled. Left him uneasy. What had she said in the small room with the cleaning stall? Any woman would do? He had to show her otherwise.

"Vegeta ...it was good, beyond good." Bulma grabbed her pillow and held it in front of her body, belatedly recalling her lack of clothing. "But ..." She swallowed wrong and started coughing as tears rushed to her eyes.

Coughing and sputtering, it took her a moment to catch her breath. When she looked up, he was nude. Magnificently nude.

"Oh my."

Vegeta frowned at her and crawled onto the bed, taking the pillow from her suddenly lax fingers. "Mine. My mate."

Bulma frowned, there was that word again. Before she could ask, the Saiyan's head was buried in the space between her neck and shoulder. She sighed. "If you keep biting me the hickey will turn permanent."

A muffled sound from him made her frown. It had sounded suspiciously like 'good'.

Before she could take another breath, however, his hands rose and settled on her hips, pushing her down onto the mattress.

Bulma thought about saying 'no' ...but really ...more mind blowing sex? It was just about enough to short out the logical parts of her brain.

Vegeta's mouth found hers in a drugging kiss as his hands traveled to cover her breasts. Suddenly, thinking was no longer even possible.

.III

Bulma groaned and shoved at the heavy male on top of her. She needed air!

Vegeta grunted and shifted his weight slightly, but it was just enough. She sighed and cuddled into his heat. A sound tickled the back of her brain. What was that?

"You left the water running in the cleaning stall."

"Shower."

"Whatever." Vegeta grumbled and tightened his arms around her, replete.

Bulma savored the moment and the strange feeling of utter safety she felt in her Saiyan's arms. Only, she knew it couldn't last. "We can't keep doing this."

Vegeta squeezed her slightly. "I don't see why not, mate."

"I'm not carrying your son." Bulma said very clearly. Needing to get it out there in the open.

But the Saiyan misunderstood. "Yet. You're not carrying him yet. And you said it would take at least six weeks to be sure." He yawned. "You've ruined me, woman. I should be training."

But the haze of sensuality fading left Bulma only with her bleak thoughts. "I am not some oven for you to play with. Find another female to carry your son."

Vegeta's dark eyes blinked open in confusion. He looked down at her and shook his head. "You would share me?"

Bulma paused, he had sounded as haughty as usual ...but he had gone all stiff. As if ...hurt?

"You only had sex with me to get a son." She bit her lip as her voice trembled slightly. How she hated looking weak in front of him.

However, Vegeta's stiffness vanished and he truly hugged her, if only for an instant. "Idiotic mate. You chose me and I accepted. Now we start a family. There will be no other companions for me. Or you." His voice hardened. "I will kill your 'friend' if he keeps pestering you."

Bulma's mind went blank. Too much. Too many questions suddenly raised. "Wait. What? I chose you?"

Vegeta nodded. "You asked me to kiss you."

Bulma nodded back. "True."

"I did so."

She grimaced wryly. "You did more than that."

Vegeta laughed. "Once you chose me, mate."

Bulma took a deep breath to steady herself. Then another. Finally she looked him in the eyes. "A drying cloth is called a towel. A cleaning stall is called a shower. Here on Earth that is. And you are not my companion..." It was a question.

"No." Vegeta growled. "We are mates."

The young woman felt the world spin around for an instant, leaving her dizzy. If companion equaled boyfriend then ... she shouldn't ask, she didn't want to know, not really. But she found the words spilling from her mouth anyway. "So the Saiyan word for mate means what ...on Earth, what does it mean here?"

Vegeta didn't even hesitate. "Wife."

.III

Bulma's mother was just about finished cleaning the kitchen when she heard an unholy scream from upstairs.

.III

Well? Hope you're liking the story, would love to hear what you think!