Author's Note:

Prepare yourself guys! This is the chapter that made me write this story to begin with. The scene in here is what I had buzzing around in my head which the whole fic has been based around.

I hope I've done it justice from what I've imagined and I hope you all enjoy as much as I did writing this one out :)

And without further ado...here is the chapter!

Chapter 17

Bulma and Vegeta stood at the entrance to the throne room, the large doors closed in front of them with guards standing on either side waiting for them to enter. They could hear the thrum of music from behind the doors as well as the noise of hundreds of people chatting and laughing as they waited for the prince and his future queen to enter.

Bulma felt her pulse start to increase, as the enormity of what they were about to do hit her. Her breath picked up as she realised she was going to be introduced as the future queen of Vegetasei in front of the most important people on the planet. Her head spun slightly, but she wouldn't let herself regret her decision to stand by Vegeta's side. She had to do this for him. She just had to.

Vegeta sensed Bulma stiffen next to him and felt her already small ki increase slightly. He turned his head slightly to observe her. The woman was panicking, he could tell. In that moment, standing in front of the doors he too felt the reality of what they were about to do. Guilt hit him suddenly for what he was putting her through, but it was too late to turn back now.

Picking up her arm, he threaded it into the crook of his elbow. Unwinding his tail from his waist he wound it around hers and drew her closer to him. At the contact, Bulma turned sharply to look at him. She never had the feeling of Vegeta's tail around herself before. But it made her feel warm and powerful as she pressed into the side of his muscular frame.

"It's tradition for the Saiyan male to show his claim over his mate through the wrapping of tails around the waist" Vegeta explained softly. "If you had a tail, you would be expected to wrap it around myself. Since you don't have one, we'll just go in with our arms linked".

Bulma nodded at him, taking in a deep breath to calm herself for the awaiting moment. Her arm tightened around his and she straightened her back putting on a determined face.

"Let's do this" she spoke sounding a lot braver than she felt.

Vegeta stared at her, his chest bursting with pride at this incredible woman by his side. "Regardless of the circumstance woman, just know that I am proud to have you by my side" he said steering them forward.

Bulma felt all the blood rush to her face at his words. Vegeta wasn't one who praised people much, let alone vocalised his own feelings. When he said those words, her heart jumped into her throat and her growing feelings for him didn't help the situation much either. At that moment the guards on either side of the doors, pulled them open and displayed the inside of the throne room to them.

The throne room was decorated beautifully, golden lights adorned every corner of the room. Endless tables of food and guests filled either side of the room. Everyone was dressed in suits, armor and the most exquisite dresses money could buy. A live band sat on the far left with gleaming instruments reflecting in the lights. A dance floor also lay in front of the band to accommodate the later night activities.

In the middle lay a massive red carpet from the entrance to the four golden thrones on a raised podium at the end of the room. The King and Queen sat on the far left two larger thrones, dressed to the heavens. The King adorned gleaming armor and the Queen in a matching dress which floated around her making her look completely out of this world. Two smaller thrones were beside where the King and Queen sat, which Bulma assumed was where Vegeta and her were going to sit.

The music and chatter slowly died down as people started to notice that the throne room doors had opened.

Vegeta guided Bulma to walk forward with him, slowly entering the room.

"Head up high woman, you are worth more than all these idiots combined" Vegeta whispered to her.

At his words, Bulma straightened up and completely gave up on expecting her blush to disappear. If Vegeta kept this up she might just catch fire.

Walking into the room, dead silence met them. Vegeta held himself up straight and proud, curling his tail tightly around Bulma's waist. In that moment, regardless of the circumstances surrounding what got them here, Vegeta couldn't stop the only thought that crossed his mind.

This feels so right.

Having Bulma at his side with all of these people watching them, him entering with her as his future queen and him ruling the planet with her at his side, just felt so damn right. He couldn't put his finger on why it did. But it just felt that no one else could fill that spot and it was made for her and her alone.

Walking towards his father and mother at the far end of the room, Vegeta kept his eyes locked on his father. His father's brow was drawn and Vegeta could feel the anger radiating off of him from all the way at the other end of the throne room. The King stood from his throne, angrily placing his wine glass on the side table next to him with so much force that it shattered into pieces.

The Queen stood up slowly beaming at him and Bulma. She placed her hand gently on her husband's shoulder trying to calm him down. In that moment, Vegeta felt the strongest he felt in his life. Bulma at his side, his father glaring at him and thousands of people watching the future rulers of the planet claim their thrones.

Bulma on the other hand was observing the expressions of the people around them as they slowly made their way across the throne room. She caught sight of Goku and Chi-Chi beaming at them, Goku with a piece of meat in each hand waving enthusiastically at them. The saiyan females were spread across the room, but she could see the hatred being directed at her from each one of them. That did not surprise her in the least as they've been throwing dirty looks at her for months now. She spotted Tomara, who was dressed in a gown that barely covered any skin, glaring with so much hatred at her.

Bulma hesitantly turned her sights away from the crowd to see the reactions of the King and Queen. This was the part she was dreading the most. How was she going to be treated by the King after this? She had worked so hard these past few years to earn his respect and grow the nation of Vegetasei. It would be a real disappointment if he forgot all of her efforts and focused his anger on her for just this moment.

Okay I'm screwed Bulma thought as soon as she caught sight of the King's face. He looked like he was so angry he was going to explode. His eyes though were fixed on Vegeta as if blaming him for daring to pull a stunt like this.

Eventually they both reached the podium, by which time the entire throne room was dead silent. Vegeta and her stopped in front of the King and Queen.

Vegeta tugged her down slightly "We need to bow woman", he whispered to her.

Getting on one knee, Vegeta bowed in front of the King and Queen. Bulma following him, bowing on both knees to accommodate the dress she was wearing. The King and Queen placed their ring fingers in front of them which Vegeta kissed, Bulma following his actions.

They both stayed kneeling in front of the King and Queen. The King boomed above them both, his voice carrying across the throne room. "Rise prince and princess of Vegetasei. May the Gods grant you eternal power to rule over all".

At his words, the throne room erupted into clapping and cheering. The band started playing in celebration. Even with her head bowed and her eyes focussed on the King and Queens feet, Bulma could hear Goku's wolf whistles across the room.

Vegeta and Bulma rose, Vegeta placing a hand in hers to help her up. Tugging gently in her hand, he turned them around to face the crowd. He raised his hand that was holding hers up to the sky, both of them joined in victory. Bulma didn't think it was possible but the crowd roared even louder, clapping and cheering for their new rulers.

As they lowered their hands and turned around, the King stepped up to Vegeta and whispered in his ear.

"We'll talk about this later boy" the venom in his voice carrying over to Bulma.

Vegeta just smirked and pulled them to the other two thrones on the far right of the podium. All the royals took their thrones as the crowd went back to chatter and the band continued to play.

Settling into her throne, Bulma chanced a glance at Vegeta sitting next to her. He had a smirk on his face and looked extremely proud of himself.

Tch classic Vegeta, he always liked the limelight, she thought to herself.

Vegeta was feeling really chuffed with himself. As he picked up a glass of wine from the tray a waiter had brought over to him, he smirked to himself.

For being such a last minute plan, everything worked out quite well. They had managed to make such a good entry, the crowd cheered for them and he managed to piss off his father. Yup, things had worked out perfectly.

Take that old man. That's what you get for trying to mess with my life.

Bulma had turned out to be the best candidate he could have chosen too. She looked absolutely breath taking and she handled to crowd like a seasoned queen. He was impressed.

Glancing at her next to him, he watched her also take a glass of wine from the tray a waiter brought over to her. She sipped it delicately, swirling the liquid around the glass as she watched to crowd in front of her. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she had done this before.

Crazy woman, she always acted like she owned the place anyways.

As the festivities went on into the night, Bulma was introduced to many dignitaries and ministers who offered their congratulations and already started try to suck up to her. She could see in their eyes they didn't like the idea of a non-saiyan queen, as they would keep staring at her blue hair and looking her up and down, however they said nothing and kept playing their political games.

Bulma didn't particularly care about their reactions. She was already used to this kind of treatment when she would present her technological advancements and ideas to the council of Vegetasei. Not many saiyans liked to see non-saiyans being more powerful or intelligent than they were. However, she learnt long ago that they would just have to deal with it it. She couldn't change the fact that she was smart and good at her job. She was who she was for Kami's sake! There was no way in hell she was going to change for them either.

However, the treatment of the King was what was getting to her. As the night wore on and conversations grew long and tiresome, Bulma could see the King staring at her with disdain. It hurt to see him looking at her like that. Especially since she had known him since she was a child and had held quite a lot of respect for him. Sighing to herself, she felt like she just needed to get some fresh air to clear her head. It had been a really long night after all.

Looking around the throne room, she spotted the curtains in the far right flapping in a light breeze. Thinking of the layout of the throne room she had seen thousands of times before, she realised there were doors that opened out into a balcony on that end of the room.

That was it, that was the perfect escape.

Just before the next set of dignitaries could come over to them, Bulma leaned towards Vegeta who as her side.

"I'm just going to get some fresh air" she whispered to him.

Vegeta nodded slightly and watched her make her way towards the balcony doors.

Vegeta furrowed his brows as he watched Bulma make her way across the throne room and disappear behind the curtains onto the balcony.

The woman was clearly feeling stifled and needed a break. To be honest, he himself felt the exhaustion set it one hour in. Growing up as a prince, he was used to meeting all sorts of important ministers, dignitaries and foreign delegates. So, these kinds of conversations were something he had gotten used to over time. However, the sheer number of people they had met over the past couple of hours was just too exhausting and tiresome. He also felt the need to escape for just a breath of fresh air.

Making up his mind, he turned to his father "I'm going to go see how she's doing" Vegeta said to the King before stalking off and not waiting for a reply.

His father just clicked his tongue at the impertinence of his brat and turned to go greet the rest of the dignitaries who had come to meet him.

Bulma breathed in a breath of fresh air as she placed her hands on the balcony overlooking the palace gardens.

Damn she needed this.

It was getting a bit much in there and she just needed some fresh air to clear her mind. It felt really good being by Vegeta's side throughout the night though. She felt like it was somewhere she belonged, supporting him and helping him rule. However, she needed to keep reminding herself that this was all pretend. She couldn't trick herself into believing this was all real and get lost in her feelings for him. It was only day one, she needed to keep a straight head on.

Lost in her thoughts, Bulma didn't hear the balcony door open up behind her. She suddenly saw a shape moving beside her and caught the silhouette of someone bending slightly and leaning their elbows on the balcony railing to her left.

Caught off guard she turned her head sharply to the right, to see who had snuck up on her.

"Relax woman, it's me" Vegeta said into the night air.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Bulma turned back to take in the view of the palace gardens.

"Damn Vegeta don't scare me like that. I thought you were one of your female friends coming to kill me when no one was looking".

"They are looking particularly murderous tonight, aren't they?" he smirked. "I wonder why".

"Hmmmmm well they did know from our stunt this morning, so I can't imagine this came as a surprise to them" Bulma huffed out signalling with her finger between the two of them. "You would think they would have adjusted by now".

"Pfffffft as if" Vegeta snorted. "Not a chance they'll let this one go."

"Yeah well, as long as they don't kill me before you can find your true mate, then that's a win for me" Bulma said sarcastically.

Vegeta grunted in response. Her words reminding him for the first time that night that this was just an act. He had completely forgotten about that the moment he stepped into the throne room with Bulma on his arm. Everything the whole night just felt so natural that he forgot that this was going to change once he found his real mate.

Each of them lost in their thoughts, just stood on the balcony enjoying the cool night air and comfortable silence.

Suddenly Vegeta felt a strong ki behind them, hiding behind the balcony doors.

He knew that ki anywhere. It was his fathers.

Straightening up and clenching onto the balcony railing Vegeta realised what his father was doing. The King was spying on them to see if they would break character and show him this was all a fake act.

Moving without thinking, Vegeta shifted so that he was standing behind Bulma and wrapped his hands around her waist. Her back was pressed into his chest and he could smell her strawberry scented hair under his chin.

"What are you-" Bulma started at the sudden feeling of Vegeta behind her and being pulled into his arms.

"Shhhhh woman. My father is watching us from the balcony door" he whispered burying his nose in her neck and nuzzling her gently.

"Oh" she breathed out. Liking the feeling of the skin to skin contact more than she should.

Vegeta wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and Bulma leaned into him more, granting him better access to her neck whilst placing her hands gently on his strong forearms.

"What should we do" she whispered to him.

"He's watching us to see if this is real" he breathed against her neck. "He doesn't believe us".

"I don't blame him. So, we got to give him a show?" Bulma whispered back.

"Yes"

"Okay I'm in"

At her words, Vegeta felt his pulse race and his heart jump into this throat. She truly was a magnificent woman. The lengths she would go for him just kept increasing.

"You sure woman?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yup let's do this" she whispered back.

"Okay I'm going to turn us around so he can see us better. Right now he can just see my back facing him." Vegeta nuzzled into her neck.

Bulma nodded and Vegeta gently pulled away from her neck. He loosened his grip on her waist and stood to her side, so that his right side was facing the balcony doors.

His arm nudged her so that she was facing him, and their side profiles were in clear view of his father's sight.

Closing the distance between them one hand tightened around her waist, while the other went to gently cup her cheek.

Bulma's eyes raised up to meet his and he saw no fear in there, just sheer determination and hint of something he couldn't make it out. If his heart wasn't beating so strongly or his pulse racing at what he was about to do, he would have been able to read her better. But for now he just drew his attention to her full lips which beckoned to him.

As he bent down, he felt her push closer to meet him halfway which in some deep part of his mind made him think that she wanted this as much as he did.

Vegeta touched his mouth to hers, their lips touching gently as he fully felt her soft skin beneath his lips. It felt like all the years they had known each other, had led to this one moment. All the fighting, the bickering, the playing, the friendship culminated in this one moment as Vegeta pressed his lips more fully against hers.

Angling his head, Vegeta opened his mouth and ran his tongue over her lips, gently coaxing them open. Bulma gasped at the sensation and Vegeta took advantage by slipping his tongue into her mouth to meet hers.

Bulma was in heaven. As she felt Vegeta's tongue sensually slide across hers, she felt her entire body respond. She moved her arms and slid them around his neck, bringing them flush together. He responded in kind by groaning slightly and dropping his hand from her cheek to wrap tightly around her back.

Vegeta deepened the kiss as he explored her mouth hungrily, running his tongue over hers and the inside of her mouth. Bulma moaned at the sensation and continued to reciprocate, enjoying the feel of his tongue against hers and the closeness of his body wrapped around her.

The feel of his mouth moving over hers set her entire body on fire and she felt like she needed to feel more. Her arms which were wrapped around his neck moved slightly so she could bury her hands in his soft hair.

Vegeta groaned more deeply into her mouth at the feeling of her hands running through his hair as she tugged lightly. He quickened the kiss as his mouth roved over hers and his tongue continued to massage her own.

Soon Vegeta pulled away slightly for air and continued to place gentle kisses on the side of her mouth. He moved to the side of her neck to run his tongue over her sensitive skin under her earlobe and taste her flushed skin.

"Think….he's still….there?" Bulma panted as she held his head close to her body, giving him more access to her neck.

"Yeah….probably….don't really care" Vegeta breathed out between licking her neck and placing gentle kisses on her skin.

At her gentle tugs, Vegeta moved back to her lips to kiss her again needing to feel her mouth on his. He kissed her passionately, revelling in the sensuous feel of her tongue moving against his.

Time seemed to slow down for both of them as they continued to enjoy the feel of each other, and the sensation of their mouths joined in the most intimate of ways.

Losing track of the time and completely forgetting why they were doing this in the first place, Vegeta didn't even monitor where his father's ki was. He continued to kiss Bulma and run his hands gently across her back, revelling in the parts of her dress which exposed her skin and allowed him to feel her better.

"Let's go over here Chi-Chi, the balcony is probably empt-" the doors slammed open as Goku barged in with Chi-Chi trailing after him.

At the sight that met his eyes, Goku stopped mid-sentence his jaw dropping to the floor.

The loud noise broke Vegeta and Bulma apart suddenly, as they looked around trying to get their bearings.

"Uhhhhhhh" Goku said struggling to find his words.

Vegeta being the first to recover, crossed his arms and stared off to the side a blush covering the top of his cheeks.

"Pick your jaw off the ground Kakarot" he mumbled.

"What? What happened? What did I miss?" Chi Chi said coming in behind Goku.

Goku started pointing stupidly between Vegeta and Bulma, moving his finger from one to another.

"They were….uhhhh…. like you know… uhhhh" Goku stuttered.

"Whatever Kakarot, I've got to go" Vegeta said pushing passed Goku and re-entering the throne room.

With no one left but Bulma, who still was a bit dazed with a blush covering her entire face, Goku and Chi Chi stared at her waiting for an explanation.

"I got to go too" Bulma said hurriedly and rushed past them, following Vegeta into the throne room.

"Wait Bulma!" Chi Chi yelled at Bulma's retreating back.

Turning around Chi Chi faced Goku, her hands on her hips waiting for an explanation.

"So what happened Goku?" she's asked sternly.

"I hope we get to see lots of baby Vegeta's soon" Goku smiled goofily.

Author's note:

Hope you all enjoyed that! After all the tension so far, we finally got a kissing scene :)

There's more to come so hang on tight!