Bulma

Year 756

The air catches in her throat; she sees the moment recognition dawns on the other woman's face, watches as green eyes widen with shock, and the struggling movements cease.

Bulma's mouth is dry. "Let… let her go," she demands, and there must be something in her tone, because Raditz quickly complies. Bulma ignores him, ignores everyone except the woman she hasn't seen in so long. "Launch. How?" She's wrapping her arms around the blonde without thinking, her hands are shaking. "How did you get here? How are you alive?"

There's silence from the other woman, just the press of fingers digging into her back, the hug uncharacteristically tight for this version of Launch. She can feel the other woman trembling — from adrenaline, she thinks — and glances at Vegeta over her shoulder. "Get me a blanket."

For once, he doesn't grumble at her bossiness, simply returning silently with the cover from their bed. She wraps it around Launch's shoulders, guides her through into the living space, and makes shooing gestures at the men. They disappear from sight, but she has no doubt they're listening in. She doesn't care.

"Did he hurt you?"

Launch shakes her head, and then scrunches her face. "Oh shit," she mutters, just before she sneezes.

Blue Launch stares at her, startled, squeaks "Bulma?!" and promptly starts to cry.

She's unaware of how much time has passed before Launch finally falls asleep with her head in Bulma's lap, but she guesses that it's been hours. Bulma continues to stroke the woman's blue hair, feeling a familiar sort of numbness, the same she felt in the days after she was captured by Zarbon, and in the quiet moments when her mind has wandered back to thoughts of Earth and her dead friends.

The numbness feels stronger, now, having listened to Launch sob her way through a disjointed narrative of capture and survival, of being passed from soldier to soldier as a slave, traded for goods or won in a game of cards, until she ended up in the brothel on Roltrom. Blonde Launch stopped fighting back, long ago. Both personalities were afraid of death; both wanted to somehow survive. Guns may have given Launch power on Earth, but they did nothing against the aliens she encountered.

Vegeta slips into the room quietly, walking with all the silence of the predator she knows him to be. In that moment she feels the numbness claw at her neck, her throat, tendrils of fear licking her mind. She so easily could have been the victim, as Launch has been. These aliens — not just the Saiyans, but almost everyone else she has encountered in space — are so much physically stronger than her. Only the value of her mind determined otherwise, giving her some protection within Frieza's ranks. That, and the weapons she developed to defend herself with.

If Vegeta senses her unease, he makes no show of it, but sits opposite, his eyes settling on Launch. "You knew her."

Bulma tips her head in a small nod. "On Earth. Only briefly, but… she was a friend. Is a friend."

"Her appearance is different than before."

"Yeah, she does that. When she sneezes. Her personality changes as well. Blonde Launch is… tougher."

"I gathered as much. This is an ability your kind has? A transformation?" Vegeta is looking at her as if examining her for the first time, and she can sense the distrust in his voice. He thinks she's been hiding this from him.

For the first time all day, she feels as if she could smile from the absurdity of it all, though she doesn't. She shakes her head slowly, the heavy, dragging feeling a reminder of how exhausted she is. "No. She's Human, I'm pretty sure, but this condition of hers is the only one I've ever come across on Earth. I think perhaps she's learnt how to shapeshift, but not correctly."

"Shapeshift?"

"I knew a few shapeshifters on Earth. They were all animals though. Not Human. I don't —" she shrugs, looking down at Launch's tear-streaked face, "I don't have the answers to this one. Some things on Earth were more in the realm of magic than science, and I've always just accepted that fact."

"Like these dragonballs."

"Yes. I can track their frequency, but how they work is beyond me. It's not something science could explain."

They are silent in their thoughts, until Vegeta breaks it. "I have seen a magic before, as a child. Not for wishes. For other things."

"On a mission?"

He nods, and she knows this is all the information she's getting from him on the matter. Instead of pushing him for more details, she addresses the other matter that's been on her mind.

"Did Raditz say why he brought her back here?"

"The idiot thought you would want that. Because he recognised her as a female from your species. I suppose he was correct?"

"Yeah. He was. I just hope she's not… it may be a problem for her to be in a confined space with him if —"

"He didn't use her for that. Nappa's pissed off because neither of them got what they went to the brothel for."

Bulma sinks back against the couch in relief. "Okay. That's good." It's only now that she realises the ship is moving — but of course it is. Raditz would have made a scene. She hopes it didn't draw too much attention.

"I assume you're going to stay there all night."

"Kami no, I really need to pee!" She reaches out her hands towards him. "Help me escape without waking her. I'll go to the toilet, and then lets go to bed. It's been a long day."

It's only when she steps into the bathroom that she realises she's still wearing most of the gear she wore onto Roltrom. The short trip onto the asteroid to get parts feels like it took place weeks ago, not this morning. She catches Vegeta's eye in the mirror as he enters, closing the door behind him. She can tell by the tense set of his jaw, and that twitch of his eye as he looks away, that something is bothering him.

"You're upset." She keeps her eyes on her clothing as she says it, stripping off and leaving it in a pile on the floor. She can see him grimace out of the corner of her eye.

"I am not upset," he spits, sounding almost petulant. She watches him as he peels off his spandex, and it's an effort not to get distracted by the sight of his abs.

She shrugs, knowing that pushing him any further won't do her any good tonight. On a normal day she'd go there, but she does not have the energy for it now. She practically slumps onto the toilet seat, not caring at all that he's there. The sound of her peeing fills the silence; she watches as his shoulders tense, watches as he throws his clothes on the floor with angry movements, so different from the controlled mannerisms he usually maintains like a mask.

"She's another fucking mouth to feed," he mutters as he steps into the shower, his tail flicking violently behind him, his voice so quiet that Bulma almost misses it.

"That's what you're worried about?" The toilet flushes, and she joins him under the spray of water. The ship isn't perfect, by far, but the expansive shower is one thing she's always been grateful for. "She's Human. She won't eat any more than I do, which is a fraction of what you put away in a single meal. Seriously? You're complaining about that?" She reaches past him for the shampoo, squirting some into her hands before passing the bottle to him. He glares at her, and she can't help but smile in response.

"It's that Raditz didn't consult you — that's what bothers you. Am I right?"

He doesn't answer, but he doesn't have to. They shower in silence. She takes the soap and rubs it into his back, massaging tense muscles until they slowly begin to melt under her fingers. "For what it's worth, I appreciate that he saved her. Until today I thought I was the last of my kind."

"It is about maintaining respect."

"You mean power and control."

He shoots her another look over his shoulder. His shoulders are tense once more; she can feel the hum of it under her palms. "I am the Prince. They must obey me."

"And they do."

"Barely."

She sighs, turning off the water, and leans into his back, wrapping her arms around him. The warmth of his skin is just enough to ward off the chill of the ever-present aircon in the ship. "I'm sure you already let him know you weren't pleased."

"Hn." There's still something he's not saying. She hesitates, weighing up her exhaustion with need to hash this out.

"Say it."

"Since you appeared. Since —" He shakes his head, while she remains perfectly still against him. "They see the way you are with me, the way I am with you. They see you do what you like. It is problematic."

"I'm not one of your men."

"Obviously."

"If they can't understand that someone is going to act differently with the person they're in a relationship with than they're fucking idiots."

"On Vegetasei women listened to their men."

"Did they? Is that what Nappa said? Because from what I remember you were five when Vegetasei was destroyed, and I doubt you spent those first few years of life observing relationship dynamics in great detail and with the level of understanding of a psychologist. For fuck's sake." She steps back from him, feeling her face flush, her body suddenly hot and sticky with sweat. "Are you seriously telling me that you're pissed off because I dare to see myself as your equal?"

He turns to face her. "Do I look pissed off?"

She takes in a shaky breath, her eyes scanning him. He looks resigned. "No."

"You asked me to tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking that you have made my life more complicated than I had anticipated. That does not mean I am telling you to change your behaviour. It simply means you're a fucking pain in my ass."

"Well thanks. You got me all worked up now, I need another fucking shower."

The slightest hint of amusement graces his lips. He steps forward, placing his hands against the shower wall behind her, trapping her between his arms. "Perhaps I can help." His voice is a whisper against her ear. She closes her eyes, head leaning back against the cool tiles. It's late, and she could so easily sleep right now, but she finds herself sighing into the press of his body, moaning as his lips brush her neck.

They have danced once more around the conversation of what it is between them. She wonders if he will ever tell her how he truly feels, but then his fingers slide up her thighs and he kneels before her, his dark gaze full of wanting, and she ceases to think at all.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this fic, and for your patience around my slow updates. I think I mentioned in an earlier update (or perhaps it was another fic altogether?) that the start of 2019 wasn't easy for me (had a miscarriage/fell into a depression because of it), and my inability to give any attention to fanfiction in 2019 snowballed from there.

The second half of 2019 was much happier overall but not necessarily easier. I'm now 7 months pregnant, but it's only really in the past few weeks that pregnancy has started to become easier for me. I had pretty nasty morning sickness until November, and then tore my abdominal muscle and had trouble doing basic tasks for 2 months (it finally healed 2 weeks ago!), witnessed my Nana have stroke in front of me (so thankful for first aid training- and she is fine and recovered well), sold my house in November and moved mid-December to a house big enough to raise kids in, am still currently surrounded by moving boxes, half-unpacked, and trying to prepare for baby... so it's been a bit of a ride. BUT I am feeling great and positive and relaxed now, and have a couple of months of leave ahead of me before baby arrives, which should give me plenty of time to write. Sorry if I haven't replied to your reviews from last chapter; they are always appreciated even if I don't get around to saying so on an individual chapter.