Chapter 14

Vegeta clenched his fists trying rather unsuccessfully to calm himself down. Why he agreed to this foolish idea was beyond him and he was now regretting it deeply.

Currently Vegeta was sitting under a gazebo next to the pool, his arms crossed across his bare chest, and a scowl etched across his face. The saiyan females chosen by his father were lounging around him, all of them simultaneously trying to get his attention.

Pinching the bridge of his nose and looking to the heavens, cursing Kami as to why he had to endure this torture, he tried to clear his mind of all the noise surrounding him.

The only reason he had agreed to this madness was because he was afraid of what his mother would do to him if he didn't show up. But now he was starting to think that whatever punishment she had in store for him would be significantly less torturous than what he was currently enduring.

To add to his irritations was the fact that Bulma was nowhere to be seen. He really needed to give her a piece of his mind for not showing up last night. Although he had a feeling that something was not right. Bulma had tried to ignore him all throughout breakfast and left as soon as she was done, not giving him a chance to meet up with her. Her behaviour was so uncharacteristic that he got the feeling that she was trying to avoid him. But why would she desert him at a time like this when he needed her help the most? She promised that she was going to stick with him through the end and now it looked like she was going back on her word.

Vegeta was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of a hand running up and down his bare arm. Turning his head to the side he caught sight of Tomara who had attached herself to his right arm. Quickly tearing his arm from her grip he roughly pushed her away and scooted further away from her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing woman?!" Vegeta shouted at her.

"Oh my prince I thought that maybe we could take a swim together? I even wore my special bikini just for you" she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Vegeta eyes travelled down her body. She was definitely wearing a bikini but he felt nothing at the sight of her. She looked exactly the same as all the other women here. Her bikini looked about two sizes too small revealing too much and covering too little. In his eyes she and the rest of the women looked like a bunch of common whores. Sure there was no denying that they were all very beautiful women but they all just looked so so...

Ordinary

Maybe Bulma was right, maybe his standards were too high. His birthday was tomorrow and he still was without a mate for that very reason. But no matter how he tried to look at it he couldn't bring himself to lower his standards and choose one of them as a potential mate . All his life he was used to giving his best and receiving the best in return. Not once had he ever settled for anything sub par, and frankly he wasn't to keen to start now.

Running a hand through his hair and sighing at the mess he found himself in, he realised one thing. No matter what happened he would not take one of these whores as his mate. The whole lot of them were too cheap, throwing themselves at him from day 1. Not one of them ever disagreed with him or stimulated his mind in any way. They were all just there for his title and wealth and nothing more.

Coming to his decision he decided to make it clear to them to leave him the hell alone, when he noticed that Tomara's attention was diverted from him and focused instead on the pool area. Finding it strange that for once she forgot about him, he decided to see what had captivated her and the other women's attention. Turning his head to the side what he saw surprised him.

Bulma was walking to the pool dressed in a pair of denim shorts that reached mid-thigh and a baggy white Tshirt. Once reaching the edge of the pool she removed her bag and towel from her shoulders and sat at the edge of the pool, her legs dangling in the crystal blue water. Pulling out her cell phone from her bag she idly began to browse through her phone.

Suddenly he heard a lot of angry whispers from around him.

"What is the blue haired bitch doing here?!" one of the women surrounding him spat.

"She's probably here too show off like usual" another woman huffed

"Ha looks like she doesn't have much to show off about though. Look at how she's dressed! Probably too afraid that if she uses a bikini everyone will see how ugly she is" he saw Tomara smirking.

At their harsh words, Vegeta felt anger begin to burn in the pit of his stomach. Sure he was angry at Bulma for abandoning him last night, but no one talks ill about her in his presence! She was worth a hundred times what these women were and she had gone through too much in her life to be treated like trash by some low-life whores.

Opening his mouth to give them a piece of his mind, he was once again cut off by Tomara who chose that moment to speak.

"Come on girls, let's go say hi and make sure we show her who is the most beautiful and worthy around here. Time to put the blue haired bitch in her place once and for all" she smirked, standing up to the strong nods of the other women.

Curiously Vegeta watched the whole lot of them make their way over to Bulma. From his position under the gazebo he could see exactly what was going on. The women had formed an arc around her with the opening of the arc facing him. Bulma sat at the pool pointedly ignoring them.

Once Tomara's shadow fell over her, he saw Bulma look up with a bored expression. Tomara said something to her which caused all the other women to laugh and Bulma's expression immediately turned to anger.

Vegeta smirked at the quickly escalating scene in front of him. He knew the look in Bulma's eyes all to well. She was preparing for a fight. God how he missed that look of fire in her eyes. He hasn't seen her that determined in a long time. Well not since that night when that scarred faced idiot had violated her. That look of determination created a strange stirring in his belly. Bulma really was unlike any other woman he had ever met. Sure she was physically weak, but she made sure that she was strong in her own way. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused once again on the scene in front of him.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.

Bulma had lifted herself out of the edge of the pool and was standing with her back facing him, glaring angrily at the group of saiyan females in front of her. Slowly she started to unzip her denim shorts and pulled them down her long legs,the hem of her large shirt resting on the top part of her thigh. Vegeta mouth dropped open. What the hell was she doing?! Sure she probably wanted to prove those saiyan females wrong, but this was still a public space. She can't just get naked right in the middle of the goddamn pool area! Unable to tear his eyes off her, Vegeta watched her hook her fingers on the bottom of her shirt and pull it off over her head.

Only one thought went through Vegeta's head at that moment.

Damn

Bulma was in fact not stripping naked, but rather had on a blue bikini under her clothes. Vegeta's eyes roved over her form from the legs were long and toned, leading up to a nicely shaped, firm ass. The bikini bottom framed her ass nicely and left little to the imagination. Her slim waist opened up to a wide chest where he could see the edges of her large breasts from the back of her. As she moved her arms down to drop her white shirt on the floor next to her, he could see her shoulder blades move elegantly across her back. Her skin looked so smooth and soft that he had the urge to touch her to confirm it so.

Vegeta swallowed, his mouth gone dry. Since when had Bulma become so beautiful? He still remembers the little girl he grew up with, and the last time he checked she was nowhere near as gorgeous as she was looking to him now. Why was he feeling this way all of a sudden? He had no idea why his heart was currently racing in his chest or his mind had lost all sense of coherent thought. He couldn't be attracted to Bulma could he? Did Kakarot have a point when he said that Bulma and him would be good together? At this point Vegeta had no clue what was happening to him or his damned emotions.

But there was one thing he did know for certain.

He really wanted to see Bulma from the front.

Smirking to himself he decided to act on pure instinct. For once in his life he would allow himself to indulge in what he really wanted.

When Bulma entered the pool area with her bag and towel slung over her shoulder, what she saw did not surprise her in the least.

Vegeta was sitting under a gazebo with the whole herd of saiyan females surrounding him. All of them were decked out in their finest swimwear, which of course meant that they were wearing next to nothing. Tomara had attached herself to Vegeta's arm and had a triumphant smirk on her face.

Feeling a pang of hurt in her chest at seeing them together, Bulma decided to hold her head up high and ignore them. She came here to relax and that was what she was going to do!

Although their current state of dress did make her feel slightly awkward. Maybe Vegeta liked that kind of stuff. Maybe he liked it when the women around him were dressed in tight bikinis with everything on display. Maybe he thought she was a prude and old fashioned for showing up to the pool the way she did with as much covered as possible.

Ever since that incident with Yamcha, she had always dressed a lot more conservatively. Yamcha had made her feel so violated that she wasn't too eager to show off her body as much as she used to. Of course she was wearing her favourite baby blue bikini underneath her baggy shirt and shorts, but she wasn't too eager to put it on display.

Making her way to the edge of the pool she decided to soak her feet in the cool, crystal blue water. Sitting down and taking out her cell phone from her bag she started to browse through randomly, finally starting to feel herself relax.

Of course though her relaxation was soon cut short when she felt a shadow fall over her. She knew who it was immediately as from the corner of her eyes she saw not one but many feet surrounding her.

Damn these women couldn't they just leave her alone?! Tomara had gotten what she wanted anyways. She now had Vegeta to herself. So why the hell were they still bothering her? As far as she was concerned she was no longer a 'threat' to Tomara as Tomara had so eloquently pointed out to her all those weeks ago. Surely they should be leaving her alone now?

Alas no, apparently they like to make her life a living hell.

"Why if it isn't the blue haired bitch in her finest swimwear" she heard Tomara sneer arrogantly. Her statement caused a snickering from all the other girls surrounding her.

Clenching her jaw, Bulma kept her head down pretending that she hadn't heard her. Ignore her, ignore her, ignore her.

"What? Too afraid that if you show too much skin you'll finally reveal to the world how ugly you are?" Tomara smirked from her position above Bulma.

Now Bulma thought that she was pretty decent at her own anger management (despite what a certain prince would say to that). But that just ticked her off. Who did this woman think she was, coming here and acting like the only thing of importance in this world was to be pretty and beautiful?! In her own eyes she was worth a hundred times Tomara was. She was intelligent and could create things Tomara could barely begin to comprehend. Just because she didn't go parading around in next to nothing did not make her any less of a woman.

Anger flashed in her eyes as she glared up at Tomara. Intent on giving her a piece of her mind.

"Oh look girls, we made her angry" Tomara cooed at Bulma, bringing about another round of giggling from the girls around her.

"Shame shame poor blue haired bitch is all angry because she finally lost to a real woman. Vegeta chose me sunshine, not you. There's nothing to be angry about. You can't blame the prince for choosing the best" Tomara smirked flicking her hair over her shoulder.

And that was the point when Bulma snapped.

Forget trying to relax, she was going to give this woman a piece of her mind!

Lifting herself up from the edge of the pool, Bulma stood in front of them anger blazing in her eyes.

"Oh excuse me, mighty Tomara. In order to gain your acceptance must I be required to follow your example and parade around like a common whore?" Bulma asked, mockingly bowing in front of Tomara.

When she saw Tomara's eye twitch, she knew her insult had hit it's mark. Take that Bulma thought cocking an eyebrow at her.

Tomara now starting to lose her cool, clenched her fists at her side. "You're just angry because you aren't as pretty as any of us here! And above all that you know that the prince will never choose you because of it!"

Bulma sighed exasperatedly. This woman was just pathetic. There's so much more to life than just being pretty. At this point though, there is no way she could convince Tomara any differently. So she would just give her what she deserves.

Bulma smirked to herself. So Tomara wanted to see pretty? Well she better hold on to her seat belt because she is going to get beautiful.

"Fine. So you all are eager to see what body I'm hiding under these clothes? You think I'm ugly because I choose not to display everything to any stranger who walks past me? Alright then, I'll show you where you're wrong" Bulma smirked at them

Bulma unzipped her denim shorts and pulled them off her long legs. As soon as she had done that, all their eyes widened in surprise. Obviously they hadn't expected her put any substance behind her words, but she was going to show them a point. Bulma Briefs was not one to be insulted!

The smirk still on her face, Bulma hooked her fingers on the hem of her shirt and pulled it off over her head. As soon as her shirt was off, her baby blue bikini was fully revealed to the women in front of her.

Their eyes roved over her long legs to her toned stomach and large breasts. With satisfaction Bulma saw their eyes going wider and wider.

Obviously they hadn't expected that.

Their stunned silence spoke volumes to her, and she knew that they were trying helplessly to find fault with her.

Tomara suddenly spoke up, stuttering a little "Uh well you..you think you're so great but you're nothing special! You really are as ugly as we thought you were. Look at that ugly scar running across your left breast!" Tomara pointed shakily at Bulma's chest.

Bulma looked down at her breasts, and indeed there was a thin, pale white scar running from the top of her left breast down to just above her nipple that was covered by the bikini top.

She had forgotten about her scar. The only blemish on her body that remained and reminded her of what Yamcha had done to her. If she had remembered about it, she sure as hell would not have been so careless about showing her body so freely to these women. She never wanted anybody to know what she had been through, neither did she want to explain the origins of her scar.

Just as she was about to brush off Tomara's comment right back at her, Bulma felt a presence behind her.

"Hmmm woman, I thought you would have learnt by now to pick your fights more carefully" a deep voice whispered in her ear.

Bulma stomach dropped at the sound of his voice and she whipped around suddenly to face him. Vegeta was standing right behind her and he was standing rather close to her. Even though he was too close to be considered decent, he did not step back. Bulma moved back slightly to put some space between them.

He really was the last person she wanted to face right now.

There goes her master plan of staying the hell away from him. She shouldn't be surprised that he actually sought her out. At breakfast she could tell that he was trying to make contact with her, but she had left early so he would not be able to do just that. So now he got his opportunity to finally talk to her. Probably just wants to rub it in my face that he found a mate without my help she thought with a sigh.

Well whatever, she needed to face him sometime and what better time than the present? She'll just sort things out once and for all and make it clear to him that she was happy to go her own separate way so that he can go his. He was going to be King someday, he couldn't keep wasting his time with someone like her. Now that he had found a mate, he will be required to give her his full attention. There will be no more time for Bulma and with a heavy heart she had come to accept this fact.

Steeling herself to face him head on, she looked up and faced him with a determined glint in her eye.

Only one problem, his eyes were wandering way below her own.

Vegeta in the meantime was getting an eyeful of what he was desiring the most at that moment. To hell with what his thoughts and body's reaction to Bulma meant. Right now he was going to enjoy every inch of the sight before him.

From what the back of her had looked like, he had high expectations as to what she would look like up close and personal from the front.

He was definitely not disappointed.

Vegeta raked his eyes down her body, a small smirk forming on his lips. Her neck was long and delicate leading down to a wide chest and large breasts. Unlike the other saiyan women pestering him, her bikini encased her breasts snugly accentuating their size and roundness. Vegeta's mouth went dry and he found himself wishing that her bikini was in fact 2 sizes too small.

His eyes continuing their path downwards caught sight of her toned stomach and slim waist. Her waist led down to her pelvic area which was framed nicely by her bikini bottom. The bikini bottom highly accentuating her wide hips and well toned legs.

Vegeta realised that he had in fact stopped breathing altogether. Quickly releasing the air he was holding lest he suffocate himself like a bumbling idiot, he tried rather unsuccessfully to reign in his thoughts.

Oh god, Bulma was absolutely beautiful.

How come he had never noticed it before? Countless times he had seen her in almost next to nothing when he had stormed into her room unannounced. Hell they had even shared a bed together on more than one occasion. Yet nothing. No reaction to her body or her beauty and now all of a sudden his emotions were running wild.

He really needed to control his thoughts before they led him into unchartered territory. He did not want to venture into what these new feelings for the woman meant. Mostly because he was too afraid of what the answers would entail. Feelings for the woman? Pfft. No. He was just attracted to her on a physical level.

Right?

Vegeta was not so sure anymore and these confusing thoughts were starting to give him a headache. Deciding rather to focus on the situation he found himself in, he spotted the woman in front of him glaring angrily at him.

"What the hell Vegeta?! Stop checking me out! You already have a mate and here you are shamelessly eyeing other women!" Bulma screeched at him, poking him in the chest.

"Wha-" Vegeta began but he didn't get a chance to complete his sentence before Bulma began her tirade again.

"Uggh you men are all the same! Disgusting the whole lot of you" she said throwing her hands up in the air.

Vegeta was beyond confused. What was this woman going on about? He didn't have a mate as yet and neither was he checking her out. He was just...observing.

And who did she think she was making accusations like that?!

"Clearly you're delusional woman. I, the prince of all saiyans, would not stoop so low as to ogle half dressed women" Vegeta said arrogantly crossing his arms across his chest and sticking his nose in the air.

"Pfft yeah right" Bulma huffed out. "Why don't you go back to your mate and leave me alone so I can have some peace" Bulma said turning away from him and heading back to her place by the pool.

Okay clearly Bulma had lost her mind.

As far as Vegeta knew, he did not have a mate yet. In fact that was the whole reason he was at this shitty pool, with these shitty women. His mother had desperately tried to hook him up last minute with any one of these whores, just so he could save face for the celebration tomorrow.

Just for tomorrow...

Wait a minute

Vegeta's eyes widened at his sudden realisation. He only needed a mate for his birthday celebration tomorrow. There was still a few months after his birthday and before the crowning ceremony. So as long as he had a mate for the celebration tomorrow and one that would officially be crowned his mate at the crowning ceremony, he would be sorted. That means he could find someone to act as his 'temporary' mate for now and then still have a few months to find a proper mate before he was officially mated!

Sure he was cheating the system in a way that has never been done before, but he was really desperate at this point. His father would probably have an aneurysm if he found out what Vegeta was doing. The whole point of the time gap between the birthday celebration and the official mating ceremony was to get the new potential queen ready for her job as future queen. She was to be trained and taught the responsibilities of her role as queen, as well as give her an opportunity to interact with the masses of saiyans she will one day rule over. If Vegeta had to crook the system, the future queen would not be prepared to fulfill her role as queen.

But I just need a few more days

Yeah that's right. He'll just find someone temporary for now and then find a proper mate in a few days time. He should be able to do that right? Sure it has taken many months to find someone who would meet his standards without any positive result, but this time would be different. He was sure of it. So technically he shouldn't be causing the Kingdom too much harm by going through with his plan.

Vegeta frowned as he realised one little complication. The only problem was that he would have to pull it off so well that his father would not suspect a thing. He would have to act like he was truly to be mated with the woman he would choose, otherwise his father would know instantly what he was up to. The King was a very smart man, and if Vegeta had to give him the slightest hint that things were not the way they were supposed to be, the King word pick up on it in an instant. Yes, Vegeta would have to handle this with care if he was to pull it off successfully.

Now the last question remaining is who would be the lucky woman?

There was no way in hell he was going to take one of those saiyan whores as his mate, even if only on a temporary basis. He had already resigned himself to try to keep the hell away from them. Apart from being a disgrace to the name of saiyan, he did not trust them further than he could throw Kakarot. Knowing them they would expose his plan the second they found out that they would not stand a chance to be crowned Queen. No, he would definitely have to find another woman.

Looking around the pool area, his eyes fell on the only woman who had ever grabbed his attention.

Bulma

Bulma as a temporary mate? That thought did not sound so bad. Actually, if he had to admit it to himself, he liked the idea more than he should. But was it fair on Bulma? Didn't he promise himself that he would not put her in that position where she had to give her life to him just so that he could be King? If he had to go through with this, wouldn't he be using her just to meet his own ends? He really didn't want to do that to Bulma. He may be a harsh person but Vegeta knew when to draw the line. Bulma has always been by his side since he met her in the gardens all those years ago. She had helped him find a mate out of her own kindness and he didn't want to repay hey by just using her for his own convenience.

But what other choice did he have?

Besides it was only temporary right? Technically he would not be causing a permanent impact on her life or restricting her in any way. After the birthday celebration they would 'split up' and she would be free to live her life while he finds a proper mate to be crowned as his queen.

Rubbing his temples exhaustedly he felt these schemes and confusing thoughts starting to give him a headache. Maybe he should just ask the woman if she wants to help him out or not and get this thing over and done with.

But not here

Looking around he noticed that the saiyan women were still standing close by, looking pretty pissed off at being ignored. No matter what he could not let them overhear his plan, or else they would expose everything the first chance they get. No he would need to talk to Bulma on her own, away from prying ears.

"Woman" he called out to Bulma's retreating form

Bulma carried on walking pretending not to hear him. Vegeta knew she could hear him, she wasn't that far away. Uggh damned woman is being stubborn again he thought with frustration.

Right, well desperate times called for desperate measures.

Striding over to Bulma he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Quickly turning her around in his arms, he briefly glimpsed her surprised expression before he effortlessly lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Ahhhhhhh! What the hell are you doing Vegeta!Put me down you big brute!" Bulma screamed pounding her fists onto Vegeta's muscled back.

Vegeta smirked mischievously. Oh it was so much fun teaching this woman not to ignore him. "Calm down woman. This is your fault. You're the one that choose to ignore me and now you have to face the consequences" he said casually making his way to the other side of the pool area.

With Bulma still bashing her tiny fists against his back and screaming her head off, Vegeta turned to the saiyan women who were now seething with anger.

"If any of you dare try to follow us I will personally blast you into the next dimension" he said narrowing his eyes dangerously at them. Not waiting for any response he turned and continued on his path to the other end of the pool area, leaving a group of stunned saiyan women behind him.

"Put me down Vegeta! I'm not a sack of potatoes for Kami's sake!" Bulma shouted at Vegeta still beating her fists against his back to no effect.

Vegeta's eyes darted around, quickly scanning the area to make sure they were truly alone. Once he was satisfied that there was no one lurking on the bushes who could overhear them, he put Bulma down rather roughly.

"Oi watch it buddy. I'm not some kind of training bot you can just throw around!" Bulma huffed at him trying to get her balance back after being almost thrown on the ground.

"Alright woman, now that we are alone you have some explaining to do" Vegeta said crossing his arms across his chest and staring intently at her. "Why did you not come to my quarters last night? Decided to chicken out at the last minute?"

Bulma was surprised to say the least. How long did he expect to keep hiding the fact that he found himself a mate from her? She was not going to pitch up to his quarters just so she could see him and Tomara together. No, he had no more use of her anymore and what made it hurt more was that he didn't even bother to tell her so. She felt rejected and pained at the thought of seeing him and Tomara together last night. At the moment Bulma barely understood her new found feelings for Vegeta. But from the way it was going it felt like she was starting to fall for him.

Hard

No she must not think like this! She'll just push her feelings to the side and do what's best for the both of them.

Her shoulders slumped a little in defeat as she he turned to settle things once and for all with him.

"Well why would you want me to come anyways? You've found yourself a mate already so you don't have a need for me anymore" she mumbled dejectedly.

Vegeta's eyebrow rose as he once again tried to figure out what she was going on about. "Look woman, I don't know where you got this mad idea from that I have a mate, but I'm telling you now it's absolute bullshit"

"Don't lie to me Vegeta. I saw you and Tomara last night. You were all over each other" Bulma frowned at him.

Realisation dawned on Vegeta. So that's why the woman was acting so strangely the whole day. She had seen Tomara kissing him in the hallway last night and she must have gotten the wrong impression.

"Uggh those women are so not worth the trouble they put me in" Vegeta mumbled to himself rubbing his temples in frustration as he felt another headache coming on.

"Huh what was that?"

"Woman hear me once because I am not going to repeat myself" he said staring her down. "That whore came onto me without my permission. If I had it my way, she would be dead by now rotting in a pool of her own blood for even thinking of doing what she did to me last night. I assure you that I would not take her as my mate even if she was the last woman on Vegetasei. I have made that pretty clear to her and if she has any brains she would not dare to try something so foolish again" Vegeta finished arrogantly shoving his nose in the air and crinkling it at the thought of even taking her as his mate.

Bulma peered up him curiously, trying to see whether his face gave away any evidence of him lying to her. After knowing him for so long she could usually tell from the look on his face whether he was lying. Looking at him closely she was surprised to see no trace of lies. He looked frustrated, his eyebrows furrowed angrily. But Bulma had to make sure. She knew what she saw last night, there was no way he could brush that off as an accident so easily.

"But I saw you Vegeta and from where I was standing you were definitely kissing her back" Bulma said eyeing him closely to see his reaction.

Vegeta threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Uggh woman what don't you understand by SHE CAME ONTO ME!"

"No need to get so touchy. Besides that doesn't explain why you were kissing her back. If it was solely one-sided that wouldn't have happened Vegeta" Bulma said crossing her arms across her chest.

Vegeta sighed running a hand through his hair. "Look she just surprised me and I…I…just… never mind it doesn't matter. Just trust me on this woman, she is not my mate nor will she ever be"

"But why did you kiss her back?"

"Ugggh woman what is your problem?! Why does you care so much that I kissed her if she is not my mate?!" he said angrily

"Because I need to know if you are lying to me Vegeta" she said looking at him straight in the eyes. "I don't want to be used and then thrown away"

Vegeta's heart sank at her words. Isn't that exactly what he was trying to do with her? Put her up for display and then get rid of her once he found an actual mate in a few days? But what other choice did he have? No if he was going to go through with this he was going to make sure she knew exactly what was going on. He would make sure she knew he didn't intend to use her and throw her away. In fact it was because he valued her so much that he chose her.

"Look woman, I wouldn't lie about something like this and I would never treat you like that. You should know that by now" he said softly. "I give you my word as a Saiyan Prince that there is nothing going on between me and that whore."

Bulma looked up at him and the level of seriousness in his eyes surprised her. Just looking at him, she was certain that he wasn't lying to her. At this realisation she suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt happier. It was a good feeling knowing Vegeta hadn't betrayed her, neither was he involved with any other women. Bulma felt herself smiling slightly. She was still adapting to these new feelings she had for Vegeta and suddenly it was becoming harder for her to stick to her original plan of staying away from him.

But she couldn't get sidetracked from her original intentions. It was still dangerous for her to become too close to him. That had not changed. He was a prince while she was a mechanic. No matter how hard she wished it to be, any relationship she wished she had with Vegeta would never be allowed. That was making the unlikely assumption that he felt the same way about her. Feeling her happiness deflating suddenly she realised that she would have to stick to the plan. No matter how much it would hurt she had to try to distance herself from him. It would be the best for the both of them.

Sighing to herself Bulma looked at him slowly from under her bangs. "Alright Vegeta I believe you." As she spoke she watched the smirk grow on his face.

"Took you long enough woman" Vegeta said crossing his arms across his bare chest. "Now down to business. As you may now realise I have quite a problem. Tomorrow is my birthday celebration and I still haven't found myself a mate" he said eying her carefully.

Realisation dawned on Bulma. "Oh shit what are we going to do?!" She said a slight panic rising within her, all thoughts of her previous plans to not great involved with him temporarily forgotten.

"Calm down woman I have a plan. Problem is it's quite risky and I'll need your cooperation to pull it off" he said pointing at her.

Bulma looked at him curiously. "So what's your plan?"

"If I tell you here, there's the risk someone might overhear. That's a chance I'm not willing to take" he said his eyes darting around the bushes surrounding them. "Come to my quarters tonight and I'll fill you in on the details"

Bulma internally debated her options. She needed to keep to her plan of distancing herself from him, but she also wanted to help him out. No matter what Vegeta was her friend and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let him down after she promised to stick by him.

Okay so I'll meet up with him tonight, hear what his plan is, get his mate problem sorted out and then tell him that it would be best if we go our separate ways Bulma thought nodding slightly to herself. She wasn't sure how Vegeta would react to her wanting them to separate themselves from each other, but she knew that if she didn't want to get hurt in the long run it was the best thing to do. Maybe he would be too busy with his new mate to even realise that I'm no longer in his life she thought sadly to herself. That hollow feeling was starting to return and she tried rather unsuccessfully to push those feelings aside.

Steeling herself she looked him in the eyes.

"Alright I'm in."