AN: This one is a bit of a shorter chapter, but it's a necessary one. Gotta get people on your side if you wanna win...

Chapter 18

Bulma paced in anxious agitation in Vegeta's official chambers. She rarely had been in this room, but the last time had been quite professional as it had involved finalizing her elite status. Paperwork. Very banal. This, however, was not banal. She and Vegeta were waiting for Kari to arrive to have a very frank and, likely, uncomfortable discussion about their collective future. Vegeta ensured Bulma that she was a reasonable person, but how was she to truly know? She hadn't seen much of her, and Vegeta had, which roused a startling amount of unreasonable jealousy in her. All she really knew of the woman was that she was supposed to be the one to share Vegeta's bed and have his children and be his partner and…

Gods! There was that searing hot wave of jealousy again!

'Calm down, woman,' Vegeta thought at her, a chuckle in his mental tone. She crossed her arms and huffed a quick, frustrated sigh.

At that moment, a knock resounded throughout the room, and Bulma stiffened. She stopped her pacing and stood at Vegeta's right shoulder, her arms by her sides and her posture stick straight. Vegeta stole a quick glance at her, ensuring that she was as prepared as she was going to be for this, before announcing that the guest could enter.

Kari glided elegantly through the door, a smile on her face. Her smile faltered slightly upon seeing Bulma standing next to the prince but was quickly fixed. Bulma wasn't even capable of placing a smile on her face. Instead, the best she could manage was a slightly smooth expression, as tame as she could get it. Non-threatening but also not happy. Not gloating. It was a tightrope, and her nerves were wound around it.

Kari approached the desk the cross-armed prince was seated at smoothly and sat down in the chair opposite him. "I am dying of curiosity for the meaning of this meeting. What did you want to discuss?" She slid her eyes over to Bulma briefly before bringing them back to the prince. "And it must be science related since we have our newest head scientist in attendance…?" she hazarded, letting her voice trail off in question.

"It does not involve science, but it does involve her," Vegeta stated bluntly. Kari's body froze visibly, her face turning slightly blank. Bulma was unable to tell what she was thinking, and she was on pins and needles. They were saiyans… Would she need to be ready at any moment to defend herself? Not that she had any concerns in that department, but she didn't want to be caught off guard. Kari didn't seem like the hasty or warrior type, but all saiyans had inherent ability, and she didn't know this woman.

The silence hung in the room with neither side yet willing to speak further. Bulma's mind was reeling, and she could feel Vegeta's calm mind attempting to quiet it. Kari sat tensely, watching both of them and waiting for Vegeta to speak. It was obvious that she was not about to be the one to begin this conversation, whatever it was.

Finally, Vegeta uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. "Kari, you are aware that my father appointed you to this... position, as it were, of being my future queen. That I never requested it nor had any say."

To the point, as usual. Kari nodded, well aware of this. "I never pretended otherwise," she stated calmly.

Vegeta nodded. "There was a reason for that," he stated simply, his eyes unconsciously flicking over to Bulma who stood stiffly.

Kari blinked, glancing again between the two of them. She took a deep breath through her nose and held it for a moment before blowing it out through her mouth. Her rigid body posture seemed to melt as her hand came up to her forehead.

"That's a relief. Does this mean the mating ceremony will be called off?" she asked, her voice more relaxed than Vegeta had ever heard it, let alone Bulma.

"Um…" Vegeta got out, "that's the plan."

"Good," she replied with a curt nod. "Is there a bond?" she asked, glancing between the two of them. They each instinctively looked at each other which caused Kari to nod again. "I suspected as much."

"... and a child…" Bulma said quietly. Kari's eyes opened wide in surprise, and Vegeta shot her a look of barely disguised fury.

"What?" Bulma yelled at him. "She'd find out anyway! As will everyone! And it seems like she's not against the developments." She paused, looking back at her. "Are you?" She had never had any conversation with her lover's betrothed outside of professional discussions, so this was uncharted territory for her.

"No, I am not. As Prince Vegeta already knew, I never aspired to the position of queen. I would like one thing out of this, though…" she trailed off. Vegeta nodded, signaling her to continue. "I would like a position in the royal cabinet. As we discussed previously, I am skilled in many areas of diplomacy and could be of use in many areas. I would ask that I be put to that use."

"Done," Vegeta said instantly. Kari once again nodded, very much pleased with this outcome.

A silence settled in the room as they all contemplated this short and unexpectedly positive meeting. Bulma hadn't expected it to go this smoothly. Since she hadn't really known Kari at all as a person, she had expected her to be a power-seeking leach like so many other saiyan women she had known. She recalled before making it into the palace how many of the women would talk about how they could put themselves in the running to be queen. None of them ever expressed any reason for wanting to be queen other than to be with the handsome prince and to have free reign to do anything. Did none of them realize all that went into ruling, not just the king but the queen as well? Of course not. This woman, however, appeared to have ambitions outside of just a power grab. She likely would have made a good queen.

"There may be one aspect we will need your… assistance with in this matter," Vegeta began again. "I don't suspect my father will take too kindly to this situation, and your support could do something in the way of swaying him. I will do what I want regardless, but I would much prefer it if I didn't have to fight my father the entire way."

"Consider me your ally. We want the same things—or don't want the same things, as it were." Kari smirked.

Vegeta nodded and rose from his chair, which Kari mirrored a moment later. "Thank you for coming, Kari. I will be in touch when we have a plan."

Kari shifted from one foot to the other for a moment. "Prince Vegeta, would I be able to have a moment alone with… Bulma, isn't it?" she ended, bringing her eyes to Bulma's blue ones for clarification. Bulma nodded stiffly, unsure what to think of this.

Vegeta looked at Bulma and then back at Kari before inclining his head in agreement. He looked back at Bulma and said, "I will be in my quarters." With that, he swept out of the room.

The room filled with a mildly tense silence once again as the two women sized each other up. The feeling was different than any other time they had been in each others' presence. Now there were no secrets. It was odd and uncomfortable for someone Bulma barely knew to know so much about her personal relationship with Vegeta, especially considering how fraught the situation was.

"So," Kari finally began, "how long has this been going on?" There was no offense in her voice, only a genuine interest.

Bulma gulped. "About six months."

"It started before I came into the picture then, yes?" she asked. Bulma nodded in response. Kari took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then let it all out in an audible sigh. "To be honest, I'm glad to hear that. I'm not sure how I would have felt if it had happened after."

Bulma could understand that. Once he was already betrothed, it would have felt like more of a personal betrayal if he had looked elsewhere at that point rather than to try to form a connection with someone who was already promised to him. She felt the need to explain further. This woman didn't seem too bad, even though she was technically in a sort of unofficial battle for the same man's heart and future. It was a comfort to find out that she never really wanted this and only agreed to this over a sense of duty.

Kari cleared her throat lightly. "In the interest of full disclosure," she began, appearing slightly uncomfortable now for the first time, "I was the one who suggested you be transferred in the first place."

Bulma blinked. She had suspected, but she didn't think she would come out and say it. "Why?"

"I had asked around about the group to learn more about its dynamics and heard of your scientific acumen. I had also heard about the time you spent with the prince, and I cannot say I didn't feel threatened. I had suspicions, but no proof. And I worried that if it hadn't happened yet, it might after he was forced into this arrangement. I am vain enough that I wanted to attempt to stop it."

Bulma took this in and nodded. While she had initially balked at this change, it had been for the better. She couldn't fault her for her choice. Could she say she would have chosen differently if she were in Kari's position?

"Do you… want to know how it happened…?" she asked tentatively, unsure if this woman would even be interested in that kind of information. Bulma, however, felt an urge to reassure her that there was a connection of sorts from the very beginning that pulled them together and that this wasn't some sort of little fling that was throwing all of their lives into a tailspin.

Kari was silent for a moment, taking Bulma's measure. "You know, I think I do," she said thoughtfully, smiling at the woman in front of her.

Shining blue slipped through the dark entrance to the prince's room causing him to look up from the papers he was reading at his desk. He looked at his clock and then back at her, an eyebrow raised.

"That took longer than expected," he commented lightly, but the curiosity was evident in his voice.

She gave him a smile. "We had a little girl talk," she said blithely, making her way to the bed and dropping herself onto her side. She rested her head in her hand, her elbow on the bed, and eyed him with a smile.

"What does that entail?" Vegeta asked, rising from his chair and leaving the papers forgotten.

Bulma watched him as he crossed the room, still smiling. "I asked her if she wanted to essentially… hear our story. How this happened," she said, gesturing between the two of them with her free hand. He raised both eyebrows in surprise at her, finally reaching the bed.

"Well that must have been awkward," he commented, leaning down to her. She dropped her elbow, melting onto the bed to mirror his movements.

"Not as awkward as you might think," she breathed as he climbed onto the bed over her. Her chin tilted up as he brought his lips to the side of her throat. "It's not like she had a thing for you." She felt him huff a laugh against her skin and continued the trail he was making down her neck. "I actually think it helped her make sense of it." Her breath came quicker as his lips worked across her throat and his hands roamed her body. "It uhh… it told her that uhh… that it had nothing negative to do with her and… and uhh…"

Vegeta brought his face up to hers with a sigh. "Woman. I no longer care." He hungrily pressed his lips to hers, and she found that she didn't either.

AN: So now they have another ally. :)

- Trixie-chan