Weeks flew by in the blink of an eye. Bulma buried her head in her work, close to a breakthrough with Vegeta's armor. She had made a few successful minor adjustments and she was relentlessly pursuing progress. She was obsessed. She knew she was close to drastically improving the armor's durability. It all hinged on finishing this new polymer. Vegeta had stopped by her lab a few times and she shooed him away, unwilling to break concentration.

Early one morning, she wasn't sure the time, she was hunched over her desk studying her newest prototype when he snuck up on her.

"You need to get some rest."

After she was done jumping out of her skin, she turned and scowled at him. "You are the last person in the entire universe who should be lecturing me about taking a break."

He smirked and her stomach did a little tumble. "That's how you know I mean it," he gruffly told her.

She turned back to her desk, holding the sloppy makeshift piece of armor in her hands. "It's just…" She frowned, thinking. "I'm right there. I know it. I'm so close to getting this right."

Vegeta chuckled dryly. He came up behind her and gently pulled on her arms to force her up. Bulma grumbled but stood, turning to face him.

He put his hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye. "Go get some sleep-" suddenly he froze, a look of terror on his face.

"What?" Bulma glanced around the room, suddenly afraid of some world-ending peril hiding under her lab equipment.

His eyes flicked down, then back up to her. "Nothing." He schooled his face into a neutral expression, and she instantly knew he was hiding something. He couldn't fool her. "Now get some rest, I mean it."

He was off in a flash, leaving her confused and a bit worried. She decided to heed his advice and headed off to her room for a quick nap.

—

Vegeta closed the door to the gravity chamber behind him, but he didn't turn the machine on. Instead, he leaned his back against the wall and slid down to a seated position on the hard floor.

Bulma was with child.

With his child.

She didn't even know yet.

He had felt a little prickle of ki from inside her, and it shocked him as if he had been zapped by lightning. His stomach churned like it did the first time he traveled through in a pod as a child.

When would she realize it? Why didn't her protection work? Would she be upset? From what he had gathered about Earth culture, typically marriage comes before children…

What was he thinking? Did he want to dedicate his entire life to a human woman? Was he ready to raise a half-blooded bastard, one who was owed a throne they would never see?

His head hung forward, collapsing into his hands. Gods, what a mess.

—

Panchy threw the last bit of vegetables into her pot to simmer, turning to face her daughter. "You okay, sweetie? You seem very tired."

Bulma sat down at the kitchen table, looking absolutely exhausted. "Yeah. I'll be okay. Just tired from working on this armor. I'm on the verge of a breakthrough, I feel it."

She smiled at her. "Need something to take the edge off?"

"Kami, yes, please."

Panchy scurried off to go find a bottle of wine from storage. "I'll be right back!" She told her.

She scoured the shelves in her small wine cellar (it was more of a wine closet, but she didn't personally drink very often, so she didn't mind), looking for just the thing to perk up her daughter. "Ah hah!" She found a nice vintage and yoinked it from its resting place. "This'll do the trick!"

Panchy turned to head down the hall back toward the kitchen, and without looking, she collided with a firm body.

"Oh, Vegeta dear, you scared me!"

He stared her down, silent.

"Everything alright, dear?" she asked him.

He quirked an eyebrow and gestured to the bottle. "Are you celebrating something?"

"Oh no, I just wanted to give Bulma a little pick me up, she's been working so hard these past few weeks."

Vegeta looked like he had seen a ghost. His face was pained, and his skin looked paler than usual. "Let me help you with that." He gently took the bottle from her hands.

"Why, thank you," Panchy giggled from behind her hand. What a gentleman this one was! Must be his royal heritage.

She followed him back into the kitchen. She saw how Bulma's tired face lit up when she saw Vegeta enter the room. It was so cute how smitten they were!

"You having a drink with us, Princey?" Bulma asked with a smirk.

Panchy held a sigh in her chest. Her daughter could be so crass.

"When have you ever seen me drink?"

She tapped her fingertip to her chin, thinking. "I guess never."

"There's your answer." Vegeta looked to Panchy, and she grabbed two wine glasses from the cabinet. "Allow me." She placed the glasses down on the countertop.

He turned his back to Bulma, standing beside Panchy. He opened the bottle with ease, popping the cork with the pressure from his fingers alone. How did he do that? It was like a magic trick. He was so strong but so gentle at the same time!

She watched him closely, fascinated as she sometimes was by the alien prince. He carefully tipped the bottle over the glass to pour the wine, then he unceremoniously sent the entire bottle crashing into the sink. The glass shattered loudly and wine swirled down the drain.

"Oops."

"Aw Vegeta, come on! I was looking forward to that!" Bulma whined from behind them.

Panchy met his eye, keeping her serene smile plastered on her face. He did that on purpose. Why would he do that? Why would he break the wine bottle?

"Vegeta, I swear to Kami you are so dead-"

He ignored Bulma completely, staring back at Panchy with a mild sense of urgency, lifting his eyebrows as if to secretly communicate something with her.

She could roll with his punches. "Sorry, sweetie, I forgot to reorder more wine. That was the last bottle."

Vegeta took a relaxed breath. Bulma let out a sound that was a cross between a frustrated scream and a pained grunt.

Why would Vegeta not want Bulma drinking…?

Panchy cocked her head to the side, taking measure of Vegeta. Was she…?

Vegeta grimaced.

Oh Kami.

"Bulma, sweetie, keep an eye on that stew for me. Mommy needs a minute."

Panchy left the room in search of more wine. She would drink alone tonight. Her little secret.

—

He was breathing down her shoulder once again, bringing her brain grinding to a halt.

She pushed her chair out from her desk and turned to face him. "What?!"

Vegeta had his arms crossed. His face was stoic like usual. "You didn't come to bed last night."

Bulma winced. "Yeah, I'm just right there with this polymer formula-"

He had a faraway look in his eyes. "You are going to burn yourself out at this rate."

She wasn't sure if it was from lack of sleep, lack of caffeine, or frustration with her work, but she was feeling prickly. "Vegeta, you aren't my keeper, let me work to keep you and the rest of the guys alive. This armor can literally make the difference between life and death."

He scowled at her. "Forget the armor for two godsdamned minutes!"

"Why do you even care so much?! Go train or something and let me work." She went to turn back around in her seat but he reached out and stopped her movement, his arm gripping the back of her chair.

"Woman, it's not just about you!"

"Exactly! All my friends' lives are at stake here-"

He let out a frustrated groan, wiping his face with his hand. "Bulma…"

She stilled for a moment. It was rare for him to use her name when they weren't in the bedroom.

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"