Unfortunately, Bulma couldn't stay in the lab forever. Goku regularly called for her in the evenings, and knowing she had to keep up appearances so not to mess with the timeline, she had to oblige. Vegeta on the other hand didn't mind staying in the lab. He didn't want to play a doting husband to Chi-Chi. He figured if he could stay down here until the Time Machine was ready, then no one would be the wiser.

Goku chatted away about normal things like work, his hobbies, and their son, Gohan. Apparently he was off af military school for bad behavior. That doesn't sound like Gohan...then again this isn't our universe.

This version of Goku was strikingly different. He did all the things that he would probably never do for Chi-Chi normally, and she couldn't help but be wooed by it. It wasn't every day that Bulma had nice men do nice things for her. She could only ever see Goku as a brother, but right now he was making it hard not to think the wrong way. Anything she did in this universe would certainly have some sort of a consequence, good or bad, and the biggest rule of time traveling was to not meddle.

So she tried to make the best of a bad situation. Instead of steering the conversation to a more romantic dynamic, she opted for the playful, friendly one. They joked about things that only they could laugh about, and Bulma enjoyed the company. It was the most comfortable she'd felt since they got here.

Down below, in the lab, Vegeta could hear every word. He tried not to listen but it was hard since he had nothing else to do. He couldn't train or else he would destroy the lab, and he couldn't fly away without fear of being seen by Chi-Chi. If she saw him- and he knew she was searching- then he would have no choice but to play as her husband. And he really, really didn't want to do that.

He frowned every time he heard Bulma giggle. Kakarot wasn't charming, or funny, or romantic. His union with Chi-Chi was about as vanilla as it got. Was this alternate version of Kakarot so charming that Bulma would fall for it?

Vegeta sensed someone approaching, and he stayed alert as someone fists beat on the front door. Goku and Bulma went silent, and Goku answered the door. "Oh, Chi-Chi! Hey how've you been-"

"WHERE IS HE?!" She shouted.

"Where is who?" Goku asked.

"MY HUSBAND! VEGETA, I KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE!"

Bulma stood up and tried assuring her that Vegeta wasn't in here. "No, no! There must be a mistake!" She said. "Ha ha, I mean why would he be here? He doesn't live here!"

"WHERE ELSE COULD HE BE?! VEGETA! I'M BRINGING YOU HOME RIGHT NOW! TRUNKS HAS BEEN ASKING FOR YOU NONSTOP! IT'S TIME TO BE A FATHER!" Chi-Chi pushed past Goku and Bulma as she searched the house. Bulma's heart was racing for Vegeta, but she hoped he decided to disappear.

Finally she reached the basement where Bulma's lab was. "Wait!" Bulma rushed towards her. "You can't go down there!"

"How come?"

"Because I have uh, an invention down there that I don't want anyone to see!"

"It's true!" Goku chimed in. "Bulma's been down there working at all hours of the day and night! She won't even let me down there!"

Chi-Chi's eyes flickered back and forth between the two, and though she wasn't convinced of anything yet, she couldn't just barge down there without permission. "Fine." She huffed, "But when you see Vegeta, tell him he's in BIG TROUBLE WHEN HE GETS HOME!"

Bulma smiled uneasily and nodded her head. "I will."

"Good night, Chi-Chi." Goku said before letting her out. As soon as the door was closed he turned back towards Bulma and sighed, "Boy, I sure am glad I'm not Vegeta right now. Sounds like Chi-Chi's got him in the dog house."

Bulma started picking up their dishes.

"I wonder why she thinks Vegeta's here though," Goku continued as if he was deep in thought. "We haven't seen him since last week. I wonder where he's at?"

"Probably getting into trouble!" Bulma joked.

"Yeah, maybe." All of a sudden she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her body. This sent shivers down her spine, but not necessarily in a good way. "What do you say we get into a little trouble tonight, too?"

Bulma's jaw dropped. Is...is Goku trying to have sex with me?!

"Well I, uh, I..." She didn't have the right thing to say. She had to admit that the temptation was real, but she couldn't go through with this. It wasn't right. She didn't love Goku, and Chi-Chi was her friend. In this universe it wouldn't matter, but in her universe it would. Bulma couldn't imagine having to go back and face Chi-Chi after having sex with Goku.

Suddenly, the house shook after an explosion coming from the lab. "Woah!" Goku exclaimed in shock. "Where did that come from?!"

"The lab!" She cried out, breaking free from Goku's stronghold. "My machine!"

"Wait Bulma don't-"

"No, it's okay! I got it! Just stay here!" She falsely reassured him.

She rushed down the steps after locking the door behind her and immediately ran into a cloud of smoke. After wading through it she finally saw Vegeta standing there, seemingly unfazed by the explosion. "What happened?!" She screeched.

"You should be thanking me!" He harshly replied.

"FOR WHAT?!"

"You were seriously thinking about having...relations with KAKAROT?!"

Bulma's cheeks felt hot all of a sudden, and she stuttered, "I...I wasn't really..."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"I WASN'T GOING TO GO THROUGH WITH IT!"

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"

She pulled at her hair and groaned loudly. "Fine, so I almost maybe made a mistake! But why did you have to go and blow the place up?!"

Vegeta only answered with silence.