Chapter 13

Vegeta had finished his training earlier than usual that night. It had been 5 days since he had met with Bulma in his room, and since neither of them had found a suitable mate for him, he was going to meet up with her tonight. He had figured he would take a long shower to calm himself down before she arrived, as he knew they would probably be up till late trying to figure something out. He was tired of this stupid 'mate business', he just wished his perfect mate could just somehow pop up in front of him, so that he could claim her as his own and he wouldn't have to deal with all this stress. Hopefully Bulma would have a plan, because he sure as hell didn't. His ceremony was in 2 days' time and he didn't have a woman yet.

Sighing to himself he wrapped a towel around his neck as he exited the training rooms. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice someone standing by his doorway as he turned the corner to his rooms. As he was about to punch in the code to open his door, he felt two hands wrap around his waist and a body press against his back. He immediately stiffened and turned his head to the side to see who it was that dared to touch him.

Seeing a glimpse of long black hair, he had a sick feeling that he knew who it was. Turning around fully and pushing her roughly away from him, he growled at the woman who disgusted him every time he looked at her.

"Do not touch me" he growled out at her

Tomara pouted, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Awww my prince, at least give me a chance. I know that you have not found a potential mate yet and I'm sure that as soon as you see how talented I am, you would not refuse me" she said seductively as she pushed herself closer to him.

Vegeta looked at her disgustedly. "Unfortunately for you I do not associate myself with whores" he spat at the woman who was now clinging to him.

"Oh, I am no whore my prince. I am an elite woman. But do not worry, I am as skilled in bed" she whispered seductively in his ear.

"Get away from me" he shouted repulsed by her words

"I have no intention to" she purred clinging on to him for dear life

"I am the prince of all saiyans, my word is law, so I suggest you listen to me before I-" Vegeta began angrily, however his words were cut off as Tomara pressed her mouth against his.

She moved her mouth tantalisingly against his own, slowly feeling the smooth texture of his lips with her tongue. Vegeta was so shocked beyond belief that he just stood there unmoving. He had never kissed a woman before and he was becoming intrigued by the foreign feelings caused by her lips moving against his own. Slowly he started to respond to her, mimicking the movement of her mouth. He moved his mouth slowly across hers as she wrapped her arms around him. This was not something he was familiar with, but he was starting to get the hang of it. He ran his tongue along her lips smirking when she moaned. Suddenly she broke the kiss and started to place quick kisses down his neck and collar, going lower and lower. Vegeta was immediately knocked out of his trance. This was going too far and he suddenly felt disgusted and filthy with her kissing and touching him like that. Roughly pushing her away from him, he stepped away from her as she fell backwards onto the floor.

Looking down at her angrily he growled "I told you not to touch me, you filthy whore"

Tomara just innocently looked up at him "But my prince, I –"

"Shut up, I don't want to listen to the shit that you speak. Go away from here, stay away from me and don't you ever dare touch me like that again. Try to get this into your fucked up head, there is nothing between us, nor will there ever be" he spat at her before walking into his room and slamming the door on her shocked face.

Tomara stared at the closed door the shock still evident on her face. However soon the false look of surprise lifted and she smirked cunningly. Her mission had been accomplished. That blue-haired bitch had seen everything and had left before she could witness the prince rejecting her. As soon as Tomara had spotted a flash of blue in the corner of her eyes she knew that she had successfully done what she came here to do. She knew that Bulma would most likely be coming here to see the prince, so she had timed herself to arrive right on time allowing Bulma to see everything. Ha, that would definitely keep her away from the prince for some time! She was probably so distraught at the prince kissing another woman, that she would be heart-broken for days. Well, that would teach her not to mess with Tomara, elite warrior of Vegetasei. She would never try to take what rightfully belongs to her again!

It didn't matter that the prince still hated her; she would work on him later. Now that Bulma was out of the picture it would be considerably easier for her to get the prince to fall for her. All that mattered to her right now was that she had finally dismissed Bulma Briefs from ever interfering again. Smirking to herself, she lifted herself off the floor, and haughtily strutted to her chambers, her mood considerably lighter.

Vegeta had finished showering for what seemed like 2 hours straight, trying to get that disgusting taste of Tomara out of his mouth and her sickening scent off his body. He didn't know what had possessed him to kiss her back, he guessed it was just his natural curiosity, but he was happy that he had snapped out of it before things went too far.

He had never kissed a woman before, so it was understandable that the first time he did he would want to experiment with the new feelings assaulting his body, but once he realised that it was Tomara he was kissing, revolt coursed through him. It was unbelievable that he had done that with her, and it disgusted him to no end. He wished that somehow he could just turn back time, so that he could prevent himself from kissing her.

At least he had told her straight that the kiss meant nothing to him and his feeling of disgust for her was still strong, so hopefully she would not think that he held some sort of attraction for her. The last thing he needed right now was for her to be clinging to him all the time, thinking that he was going to choose her as his mate. Feeling the bile climb up his throat at the thought of taking Tomara as his mate, he tried to dismiss these horrid thoughts from his mind.

He was getting worried. He had been waiting almost an hour for Bulma to arrive, but she hadn't. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was currently 1 in the morning. He knew Bulma, and if she was going to come tonight she would have at least an hour ago. What worried him the most was that she had not even bothered to tell him she was not going to show tonight.

Had she abandoned him in his hour of need? There were only 2 more days till his birthday celebration, and they had both agreed to meet in his chambers to try and come up with a plan. Then why hadn't she shown up yet? She had never done this to him before. Whenever she had said she would do something, she would do it no matter what.

Sighing to himself he realised that she wasn't coming. He wondered why she didn't come; well he was certainly going to have a talk with her tomorrow. Angrily he climbed into his bed pulling the covers roughly over himself. She had better have a good excuse because he sure as hell was not going to take this lightly.

Bulma curled up on her bed, her blankets pulled tightly around her as tears flowed freely from her eyes. She didn't know why she was so upset. Vegeta was supposed to find a suitable mate for himself, hell she was even helping him do just that. Then why was it that when she saw him and Tomara kissing in the hallway, it had felt as though something inside of her had been pierced and destroyed into millions of tiny pieces? She felt betrayed and hurt, and the worst part was that she didn't even know why. She shouldn't be feeling like this unless … unless she was interested in Vegeta as more than just a friend. Thinking about it, she did feel closer to him these past few days and she had to admit that he was quite the attractive male, maybe she had somehow developed this liking for him. But why now, why did she all of a sudden develop these feelings at the worst possible time? She had known him for years, hell they had grown up together, why would she suddenly just start seeing him as something more. Frustrated she pulled the covers tighter around her body as she buried her face in her pillow. Maybe she always had felt this way about him, but she hadn't realised it before. Only now when all these new females starting arriving at the palace and started to strive for his attention, did her dormant emotions awaken.

But what did it all matter now? He was with Tomara and she could do nothing about it. The thing that confused her the most was how had he gone from hating that woman's living guts to kissing her? Something didn't add up. Maybe he was just desperate to find a mate for himself, and had taken the first woman that threw herself at him. Tears stung her eyes as she thought of the two of them together. He hadn't even bothered to tell her that he had chosen someone already and that hurt her even more.

What would she do when she saw him in the morning? She didn't think she could even look at him without falling apart. Making up her mind she figured she would just ignore him, and carry on with her life. It was time they parted their separate ways anyway. Now that he has chosen a potential mate for himself, he would be expected to pay her the utmost attention. He wouldn't have time for her anymore. Maybe it is better this way she thought sadly. She wasn't becoming any younger either and soon she would have to find the right man for herself. She couldn't keep pining after something that would never happen.

Sighing to herself, she snuggled deeper into the pillows trying unsuccessfully to clear her mind off a certain spiky-haired prince. Closing her eyes, she knew that she would not be getting any sleep tonight.

The queen sat in her throne next to her husband, her thoughts racing. Earlier today at the breakfast table, things seemed strained between Bulma and Vegeta and this worried her immensely. It was obvious that they hadn't gotten together yet, and time was running out. Her son's birthday was tomorrow and she knew for a fact that he had not picked a potential mate for himself yet. She was worried that he would just go and mindlessly pick any woman, just to get this burden off his back. It just didn't make any sense. She was so sure that by spending some alone time in his room all those nights, they would surely be together by now. Hell, they had even fallen asleep on the same bed together for a few nights. How could nothing have happened between them? She was pretty sure it had something to do with their immense stubbornness.

Sighing to herself she knew, however, that something had happened last night. Bulma had come to the breakfast table, with her eyes red and swollen hardly touching her food before leaving early. The queen had watched her son intently. He had tried numerous times to make eye contact with her, but Bulma kept her gaze securely fastened on the food in front of her. She had looked emotionally strained and completely spent. Something was wrong for sure, and she knew she had to fix it before it was too late. But the question was how?

The king turned to look at his wife worriedly. "Are you okay my queen, you keep sighing" he asked gazing into her eyes with concern

"I'm just worried about Vegeta. He hasn't chosen a mate yet" she sighed

"I know, I really don't know what we are going to do with that boy" he said shaking his head

The queen just stared blankly at the floor in front of her, trying to think of something, anything that she could do to fix this situation.

"I have an idea my queen. I know it might not work, but it's worth a try" he said looking at her with a mischievous look in his eye. At his words, the queen's head immediately shot upwards and looked at her husband hopefully. "Today is a brilliant day isn't it. The sun is shining brightly and dare I say it, it may actually be one of the warmest days we have had this year" he smirked, his eyes glinting.

The queen not knowing where he was going with this just replied with a cautious "Yes"

"A nice day to spend by the pool, one might say" he said slyly

The queen immediately caught on with what he was suggesting, her eyes widening momentarily before narrowing slyly.

"Ahh, I like the way you think" she purred

The king smirked back at his queen. "I'll go send a message to the saiyan females, I'm sure they would be ecstatic to spend some time with our shirtless prince, while you go get the message across to our dear boy. Tell him to be at the pool at midday, dressed to swim" he grinned wickedly waking up from his throne.

"Of course" she smirked in response, before kissing her husband lightly on the lips and leaving the throne room.

The queen walked down the palace corridors, solely focused on her plan. She had already sent a messenger to Vegeta, but before she would rendezvous with her husband, she had a little stop to make along the way. Her husband's plan was brilliant and it worked perfectly well in her favour. Sure, he had originally planned for Vegeta to spend some time with the saiyan females and hopefully become attracted to one of them once he saw them in their bathing suits, but she was going to use this as an opportunity to bring Bulma and her son together. She knew that they just needed a little more time together to sort things out between themselves and maybe just an extra push. Hopefully when Vegeta saw Bulma in her swim suit, his mind-set about her would change. Sure, she knew it might not work, but she was getting desperate and this seemed like their last chance.

Racing along the palace passageways, she turned various corners heading towards the labs. Bulma had to be in there, she just had to. Opening the door to the lab that Bulma worked in, the queen walked in ignoring all the workers who immediately bowed before her, her eyes scanning the area desperately for some sign of Bulma. Spotting a patch of blue hair in the corner of the room, she walked closer praying desperately that it was Bulma. The woman was hunched over the table furiously working on some piece of machinery. The queen smirked in triumph as she approached Bulma.

Vegeta furiously threw a punch at Kakarot's face, missing it by a millisecond as Kakarot phased out from in front of him and appeared behind him, kicking the prince in the back and sending him flying into the wall. Vegeta was angry, frustrated, annoyed and beyond pissed off. Things were just not working out for him. Firstly Bulma had all but ignored him at breakfast and had left early so he had been unable to talk to her, then he had this stupid mate shit to worry about and now he was getting his ass-kicked by a brainless idiot.

"What's wrong Vegeta? You aren't fighting right" Goku inquired innocently as he watched Vegeta slowly lift himself up

"Nothing. Just come here and fight" Vegeta growled out while wiping the blood from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Uh … I don't think so. I think we should take a break" Goku said uncertainly as he looked at Vegeta

"Uggghh, just fight me!" Vegeta shouted at him

"No, there is something on your mind and it's causing you to lose focus" Goku said sternly. Looking straight at Vegeta he powered down and moved to switch off the gravity. "I will not fight you when you are in this condition"

Vegeta stared at him, shocked beyond belief. He had never seen Kakarot so serious before and it freaked him out a bit. Was he really fighting that badly, that he had caused Kakarot to change his mood so suddenly? Sighing to himself he followed Kakarot's lead and powered down.

"Fine" he grumbled. Picking up a towel and wrapping it around his neck he made to exit the training room.

"So what's bothering you?" Goku asked immediately causing Vegeta to stop dead in his tracks.

"Nothing of your concern" Vegeta spat as he again started towards the exit

"You know, if you tell me I can help you"

"I highly doubt it" Vegeta sighed his back facing Kakarot

"It's about you choosing a mate isn't it?" Goku asked innocently

Vegeta turned around suddenly to face Kakarot, his expression giving away his surprise at Kakarot's knowledge of his situation.

"The whole palace is so excited about your birthday celebration tomorrow. Everyone's talking about who you have chosen as a mate. Some have even been placing bets. I bet – "

Goku was, however, cut off by a frustrated Vegeta who was getting annoyed by his constant rambling. Deciding to cut him short Vegeta growled out "I haven't chosen a mate yet"

Immediately Goku stopped talking and looked at Vegeta incredulously. "But Vegeta your birthday is tom-"

"I fucking know its tomorrow!" Vegeta shouted throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Well, who are you gonna pick?" Goku asked happily

"I don't know. I don't have much of a choice now. I'll probably land up choosing one of those irritating whores that follow me around everywhere" he sighed

"Oh that sucks. I always thought you would have landed up with Bulma" Goku said simply

"What?!" Vegeta shouted completely flabbergasted by what he had just said. "Why … why would you say that?!"

"Oh, I don't know. You guys are so much alike and you spend a lot of time with her, so … I guess I just thought the both of you would make a good couple" he said shrugging. He then continued shyly rubbing his hand behind his head "Actually if you think about it, she is like … perfect for you. Her temper almost matches yours and you guys seem to enjoy each other's company. In fact now that I think about it, she is the only woman you enjoy spending time with."

Vegeta just stood there staring at Kakarot, his mouth agape at what the idiot had just said. Bulma, Bulma as his mate? He wasn't going to lie, he had thought about it once or twice, but he had immediately dismissed it from his mind. There was no way Bulma would accept his offer, especially now since she had been distancing herself from him. But time was running out and he sure as hell didn't want to choose one of those whores as his mate. He might as well have a woman who he could tolerate by his side. But was it fair for him to ask this of her, to ask her to give her life away to him just so that he could be king? Shaking his head, he knew he would just have to find some other woman. He just couldn't do that to Bulma.

"Are you mad Kakarot? We would never –"

However before Vegeta could complete his sentence a messenger rushed into the training room, looking around franticly. Spotting Vegeta, he hurriedly scurried towards him and bowed down in front of him with his right hand fisted across his chest.

"Your highness, I bring a message from the queen"

Vegeta nodded for him to continue. "The queen requests your presence at the palace swimming pool at midday dressed in your swimwear" the messenger said nervously

"Oh great, another one of my mother's schemes, no doubt" Vegeta sighed

"And what if I don't show?" he said crossing his arms across his chest

The messenger got considerably more nervous and started to shake slightly, afraid of what the prince might do to him if he repeated the queen's exact words. Instead he decided to mellow it down a bit. "Uh … she said you'd rather not"

Vegeta knew what the messenger was doing, and it scared him slightly to try and imagine what the queen had actually said. Making up his mind he turned his attention back to the shaking messenger in front of him. "Fine, tell her I will be there"

The messenger nodded and let out a sigh of relief, for making it out alive. Quickly scurrying out of the training room, he headed off to find the queen. Vegeta sighed to himself as he watched the messenger hurry away. He really had no idea what his mother was up to now, but he hoped whatever it was, it wasn't going to involve those moronic female saiyans. He didn't think he could handle them any longer, and if he was forced to be around them for more than a minute, he might just have to blast himself to the next dimension.

Bulma walked along the palace corridors glumly as she made her way towards the labs. Right now she felt like a wreck. Her emotions were all over the place. She wanted so desperately to at least talk to Vegeta and ask him to explain his actions last night, but her pride came in the way. She would not go crawling to him, begging for his attention. If he didn't want to tell her, then so be it. She didn't need him. She was Bulma Briefs, an independent, strong woman who could solve her own problems! However, on the other hand, she was torn on the inside the feeling of betrayal ripping her apart. She felt betrayed at him handling another woman like that. Wait, another woman? Since when had it developed into another woman?

Shaking her head and trying rather unsuccessfully to push these confusing thoughts out of her head, Bulma dragged herself into her lab. Now it was time to move on from Vegeta and focus on the one thing she knew best.

Science

Burying her mind in the mass of wires in front of her, Bulma didn't notice the presence creep up behind her.

"Why hello there Bulma dear"

Bulma immediately jumped at the sound of her name, accidently shocking herself on one of the loose wires in front of her.

"What the hell can't you see I'm bus-" Bulma began but immediately stopped upon seeing the queen standing behind her with an amused expression on her face.

"Sorry to give you a such a fright there dear, I merely wished to have a word with you" the queen smiled.

Bulma her cheeks turning red at her outburst sputtered. "Oh your majesty, sorry I didn't know it was you"

"Oh pish posh, no need to be so formal Bulma" the queen said waving off her apology. Peering around Bulma's shoulder to the circuit board on the table in front of her the queen sighed shaking her head at Bulma.

"You work too hard Bulma dear. You'll work yourself senseless one of these days" the queen tutted. "A fine young lady like you should be enjoying life while you still can, meeting boys, having fun" she said winking at Bulma.

Bulma blushed an even deeper shade of red at the queen's suggestion. "I just have quite a lot of work to catch up on, especially since I've been taking a lot of time off work to help Veg-" Bulma began but immediately felt her throat constrict at the mention of Vegeta. She felt the familiar pang in her stomach at the thought of him. The memories of him and Tomara she was trying to keep out of her head came flooding back.

Noticing the change in Bulma's emotions, the queen decided to intervene. "Tell you what dear, why don't you come down to the pool today? We are having quite a get together there. I'm pretty sure it will cheer you up" the queen smiled. "Come have a swim to clear your head, it looks like a break from all this work will do you some good" the queen said kindly.

Bulma looked up at the queen from her slouched position on her chair. Maybe a break would do her some good. She needed a way to try to clear her mind off Vegeta and maybe a change in environment was just what she needed. Although if the king and queen were having a get together at the pool, it was likely that there would be a lot of other people there too. She would be surprised if Vegeta's fan squad didn't make an appearance, and if Tomara was there Vegeta would probably be there with his new soon to be mate.

Still feeling the pang at this thought, Bulma decided that she would stick to her resolve of moving on from Vegeta. She would go to the pool, ignore him and his band of moronic fan girls and do what she needed to. She would relax and nothing he would do or say will change that. She was Bulma Briefs for crying out loud! A strong, independent woman who can get over her problems without hiding from the world.

Sitting up straight in her chair with a determined look in her eye Bulma addressed the queen. "You're right your majesty, I think a trip to the pool would do me some good. I'll be there"

"Fantastic!" the queen exclaimed clapping her hands together excitedly. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you then." Turning around from Bulma the queen made her way to the door a triumphant smirk on her face.

Mission accomplished