Once they were sated, exhausted by pleasure, Vegeta set the black velvet box softly on his mate's belly. She looked at him, bemused, and said, "It's an odd size for jewelry. Did you get me a crown too?"
"It may require a bit of explanation."
Bulma opened the box and her eyebrow lifted. "Yeah. A bit. You gave me dead dragon balls?"
In the box were the stone dragon balls, recently used. He closed his eyes and prayed to Dende that she wouldn't be angry with him. "I wished for something for you. For us. I wished…I wished that you will be healthy and strong and young in body and mind until your fated day. If I can't have you for my entire life, I wanted you to be able to live every day to the fullest. I didn't want one of your myriad human diseases to strike down some part of you and make you suffer. I also…I know you're too busy now with the company, but this way if…if you change your mind, we can always have another. I didn't want the decision to add stress to your life right now."
His queen smirked at him and touched his face. "So you basically wished for me to be hot, not saggy, and fertile for my whole life?"
"That is not what…what…what this was about! Bulma, gods! You'll be beautiful to me no matter what, but I…I can't bear the thought of you…wasting away. Please don't be angry. I know it's a selfish wish, but the second one wasn't, because I know you hate birth control and condoms. I wished that you could control your cycles. You'll never have to have another heat or period until you want one. Until you're ready. Or not. I know you may never want another."
"Okay, we'll call the 'no more periods' even with you never wanting me to have wrinkles."
"You already have wrinkles!" Vegeta said and thought better of it the moment it was out of his mouth.
She glared.
He added, "And I love them. I love everything about you. Each one is like a memory of a smile. Or your eyes clenching shut in ecstasy." He moved the box off her belly and kissed her. He pulled her tight against his body. "I love everything with you, everything about you, my perfect mate." He bent and trailed his tongue over the bite wound. He sucked it and she gasped.
"Well, my Saiyan mate, you've exhausted me, so as divine as your mouth feels, I need some sleep. But we have a whole week to enjoy each other."
It was strange to him to wake up the next day, and the day after, and another, an entire week of doing…nothing. Vegeta had no real vocation, of course, he could do as he wished most days, at least once Trunks was at school. What was truly marvelous about their honeymoon wasn't that he did nothing, because that was always within reach, it was that Bulma did nothing. Nothing besides him.
They loved each other in every way they could imagine, food had been prepared and encapsulated, so there was nothing to distract them from being together. He had never had so much of her all to himself. He was greedy to spend time with her now that he knew how few years he might have. He wanted everything she would give him, but she was too brilliant and driven to let anything at Capsule Corp slide, so he had to hold these moments tight.
By the time she needed to go back, he feared he would go into withdrawal. She packed everything, including their "palace" into her hovercar, but he pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. He said, "I changed my mind. You can never go back. You're mine. I'll keep you out here and we'll live like wild animals. Kakarot can surely take Trunks for a few years, he owes us."
"Oh please, you know by the time we get back Piccolo and Seventeen will have adopted Trunks and Goten and absconded back to their island. Goku probably forgot to take Goten home after the wedding."
Vegeta chuckled. He would have to ask Trunks about it. In theory, Panchy was watching Trunks, but given his strength and current penchant for both training without sense and chemistry without knowledge, he had enlisted Piccolo and Seventeen as backup that could beat up his child if necessary. He kissed her again and said, "Is it part of the marriage contract that I ride in that obnoxious thing, or can I fly home?"
"Uh-oh, are you late for book club? Who's my mom been drinking with since you've been gone?"
"You know that's a very good question. Can you just imagine her getting Piccolo sloshed? Her liver is some kind of entirely new form that I haven't reached yet."
"Come on, you can ride with me one last time."
He didn't argue. He didn't even really mind. As she drove he stood behind her and bent to kiss the side of her neck. He sucked down onto her mating mark, finally starting to heal. Just the sight of it made him feel like he would burst with love and lust at the same time. The lengths she went to in order to please him and honor traditions that hadn't existed for over thirty years. Even the fact that he had friends willing to help her carry out her plan.
As they settled into their new life as a married, mated couple, Vegeta tried to be less wary of his own good fortune. Happiness blindsided him. It was never hoped for, let alone expected. Looking back on his years after Cell, he wondered why he hadn't simply spoken to the woman, and the entire Majin incident might not have happened. Yet he remembered the suffocating conviction he'd had that she didn't want him. But here he was, mated to her at last, living their lives in peace. Raising their son and Kakarot's son too, most of the time. The boys were inseparable since they fused.
Vegeta almost felt adrift with nothing to do with himself. He trained, of course, he couldn't let that third-class clown pull even farther ahead of him, though his time fused with Kakarot also gave him some appreciation for the sweet simplicity of the man. Vegeta wondered if he constantly outdid Vegeta simply because there was nothing else in his mind, no other passions or hopes or dreams or desires: only to be the strongest. And Vegeta wouldn't give up his other great passion, not for all the strength in the world. For his mate, he would give up anything.
He and Panchy still had their book clubs. He even convinced Piccolo to come to one, but the big man turned so absolutely purple that Vegeta feared he was having a stroke from listening to Panchy and Vegeta speak openly about the way the hero came around to switching. So the next one, Vegeta invited Seventeen and that was good fun.
"Oh, goodness, Vegeta just has so many handsome friends! What's your beverage of choice, Seventeen?"
The android looked bemused, as much as his nearly blank face ever looked anything. "I'm not certain I can metabolize alcohol in such a way as to get lit up, but whiskey used to be my thing."
Panchy brought drinks, 'tea,' and even Seventeen looked awed as the evening wore on and Panchy put her liquor gods knew where. "I just think the wedding in this is lovely. When Andrew finally realizes that he'll lose Jamal if he doesn't propose, it was just so romantic, don't you think, Vegeta?"
"He should have done it much sooner. Jamal would have been well within his rights to leave. The fucking nerve on Andrew, acting as though he could go either way on commitment when he was in despair for the single week Jamal left him hanging."
Panchy's eyes glittered, "Indeed, it's foolish to get wrapped up in ourselves when our love is on the line. That's why I proposed to Dr. Briefs. He simply never would have thought of it, though I'm certain we'd still be together. True love is true love, but sometimes it's nice to seal the deal. I'm so happy you and Bulma got straightened around." She turned her sunshine smile on Seventeen, "And when are you going to make an honest man out of Piccolo?"
Seventeen's non-expression flickered. "Ah, so that is why you two invited me."
"We invited you because it's more fun with more people, but only if they read the damned book!" Vegeta grumbled and tossed back another teacup of high-proof ethanol. It was ill-advised that he have any more, but that had never stopped him in the past.
"You like these books?" Seventeen asked with a little lilt in his voice.
Vegeta glowered. "Are you maligning my books as my wife occasionally does?"
"Uh-oh, are you talking trash about me, Vegeta? We've only been married a few months!" the woman said as she came into the kitchen, clearly on pretense, since she didn't get anything out.
Vegeta snorted. "You're mean about my books!"
"You're adorable. Did you like the book, Seventeen?"
"I don't think they care if I read the book. I think they wanted to badger me about—"
Panchy took a wheezing breath and her eyes blew wide. "Well! I am wounded, Seventeen! I don't badger people about their personal business. I give sound advice discovered through a long and happy marriage. And I like to talk about my books and Vegeta is the only one who can keep up with me."
"Not drinking," Vegeta said and smirked.
"No, darling, no one keeps up with me drinking," Panchy said and patted his hand before she downed what was probably her thirtieth drink. Vegeta didn't even count anymore.
Panchy continued, "I don't see why you don't want to be a little more sociable with your boyfriend's people if you're genuinely committed and just being silly about having a party to celebrate it."
Seventeen's face finally shifted enough to have an actual expression as he gritted his teeth. "I'd be happy to have a party to celebrate wanting to spend my life with him—"
"Well, then what the fuck is the hold-up?" Vegeta said, tempted to slap Seventeen.
"I hate human traditions. It's not a marriage and I don't want to wear a ring—"
"So get your names tattooed on each other's asses or some shit. He just wants to be able to be out with you. And he probably wants to have a family."
Seventeen sighed. "I should have read the book."
"You should marry my best fucking friend because he's a good man and you're making him unhappy!" Vegeta was probably too lit up to be having this conversation. Although he wept less while drunk now, he still did occasionally get a bit leaky with booze.
Seventeen rolled his eyes. "I went to your stupid wedding for him!" He shifted in his chair and sipped some of his 'tea' and his eyes searched the ground. "He's not…he's not really unhappy that I won't marry him, is he? It's such a stupid, trivial thing."
The woman said, "Our wedding was not stupid and—"
Vegeta was drunk enough he didn't want his mate to go off on a tangent that was not the point, so he interrupted her. He glared at Seventeen. "If it's stupid and trivial, just fucking do it. And yes, he's unhappy, he won't even drink with me anymore because he always gets so morose." Vegeta turned back to Panchy. "Do you have any suggestions for our next read?"
"Oh, yes! I have a whole new author. But first, we have to determine if Seventeen is going to join our little club or continue being recalcitrant," Panchy said, "Bulma, darling, shoo. This is our time, I won't have you in her trying to lure Veggie away from me. Shoo, shoo, shoo. I'm sure you can manage things on your own for one night."
Seventeen stood to skulk after the woman, who grumbled about her mother stealing Vegeta. Panchy's voice had a certain scary pitch that she rarely used but to great effect. She used it now and said, "Seventeen, darling, put your taut little tush right back down in that chair."
Seventeen glanced over his shoulder and it was clear he considered defying Panchy. Vegeta almost wished he would, curious what the little woman could accomplish if truly pissed off. Instead, the lithe android slunk back to his seat and drank the rest of his tea. Panchy refilled his mug with straight whiskey. Vegeta had long ago given up the pretense of tea and just drank straight vodka, which he preferred over whiskey, especially when he had to drink a lot of it. Too often whiskey smelled like mulch.
It didn't take long for Panchy to demonstrate her liver's superiority over Saiyan and android metabolic function. Vegeta was absolutely sauced and Seventeen slurred as he said, "Jus' want Picc be happy, y'know?"
"Then you ought to accept his proposal, darling, it's a simple thing. He and I can plan the whole wedding."
Seventeen eyeballed Panchy suspiciously. "Don' thin' he'll marry me anymore. I thin' he's gonna, gonna, gonna…" Seventeen's head thudded down on the table. "Gonna leave me!" Vegeta didn't know if androids could cry, but it turned out they could. Seventeen blubbered incoherently.
Vegeta patted his shoulder. "No, no." Vegeta's verbal capabilities declined rapidly after a certain number of refills.
Panchy rubbed his other shoulder. "Here, there now, give me your phone, darling. Let me see. Yes, unlock it. There you go." Panchy rapidly tapped away on Seventeen's phone as his vivid blue eyes bored into Vegeta's.
"You sure he won' leave me?"
"Don' be an idiot. He loves you."
"Yeah?"
Panchy tittered and slid the phone back to Seventeen. Vegeta leaned to read over Seventeen's shoulder.
Seventeen: You still want to marry me?
Piccolo: Are you drunk? Whatever. Yeah.
Seventeen: Marry me?
Piccolo: Hell yeah. Come home now and fuck me.
Blushing was apparently still a possibility for the android too, and he hurried to hide his phone, but not before tapping out, On my way. He staggered toward the door and said, "I'll join yer stupid book club." His flight path was wobbly, but Vegeta felt certain he could make it home despite his drunkenness.
Vegeta smirked at Panchy. "You're good at what you do."
"Off to bed with you, Vegeta. Maybe she'll give me another grandbaby yet!"
Vegeta was more than happy to oblige, glad that his inebriation wasn't so incapacitating that he couldn't at least practice making a baby. He sauntered into the bedroom and found the woman fast asleep and snoring. He stripped and snuggled behind her. He would seduce her in the morning. For now, he kissed her mating mark, smelled the perfect scent of her, and passed out.
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