Chapter 36

Bulma was staring. It's not like she didn't normally stare at her friend. It was different. Normally when she stared she was trying to decipher what was going on in that head of hers. That wasn't the case. She was staring for other reasons. She realized that Sarada was very nice to look at. She would never admit that to the girl. Or anyone. Sarada would be too smug about it.

But she was nice to look at.

At the moment she had on her glasses as she busied herself with an odd device. Bulma couldn't bring herself to wonder about what she was making. She will always think Sarada looks amazing in glasses. They make her look brainy, which suits her. It also adds to the air of mystery she already has around her. Sarada in glasses is a rare sight that she appreciated.

As much as she loved seeing the girl in glasses she knew to look away a couple of times. Staring was creepy. But at the moment it was very hard to look away because Sarada was shirtless. She was on the floor of the ship, glasses on working on an object. She had on a pair of baggy pants and a sports bra, but that was it.

Why in the world was she shirtless?

Bulma wasn't used to seeing a shirtless Sarada. Yes she had seen her naked a couple of times, but they were kids back then. So she had to ask herself why the girl was shirtless. Bulma knew Sarada had a toned body. It was obvious. She trains practically everyday. She shouldn't have been surprised. But she wasn't expecting it. She was just sitting there, enjoying the cake she had found in the fridge when Sarada walked out of her room. She was distracted. She had already been working on what ever it is she's trying to make. She hadn't been paying a lot of attention. She almost didn't notice Bulma. Which was a good thing. Since when did Sarada have abs. As in a visible six pack. It wasn't bulky or rock hard like most men like. It was lean? Was that the word for it? She didn't know. She didn't really care. It was just nice to look at.

"Sarada why are you shirtless? "She liked to look, but she was still curious. Why was she shirtless?

Sarada didn't seem to register her voice until a few seconds later. She looked up. Black eyes framed by her red glasses. She seemed confused for a moment before looking down on herself. She seemed to suddenly realize something and looked back towards Bulma.

"I was in the process of putting on a shirt when I got a brilliant idea"

So in other words, she got distracted and forgot all about her shirt. Bulma wasn't at all surprised by that. Sarada tends to work on things the minute she gets the idea.

"Well, you can put on a shirt now"

Sarada said nothing and returned her attention to her work in progress.

"I don't feel like it anymore. It's a whole new feeling of freedom " Sarada said as she fidgeted with whatever she had in her hands. Her feet were folded and her tail was twitching idly behind her. Bulma was staring again, before looking away and stuffing a piece of cake into her mouth. She was starting to understand Sarada's problem with seeing her naked. It was indeed distracting. Sarada wasn't naked but it was more than enough to catch Bulma's attention.

Sarada had looked up at Bulma again to catch her staring. Their eyes met and there was silence. Bulma went red in the face and looked away. She seemed irritated. Sarada didn't know if that emotion was directed at her or Bulma herself. What could she have done? She's just working on a new gadget. Sarada didn't question her stares. Bulma always stares. It's her way of trying to figure her out. Even more so when she told told her why she knew so much. She hadn't told her the actual truth. It would be weird. She just told her that she somehow knew of different timelines and they are somewhat identical to the one they currently exist in. It was the truth but not entirely. She didn't feel right about telling her the entire truth. She would ask questions about her canon self. What type of person she was. What she did. Was she helpful. Who she ended up with. All of that and Sarada felt uncomfortable about it all.

Especially the possibility of her asking who she would end up with. It bothered her. The fact that canon Bulma ended up with Vegeta never bothered her until she realized the question could be asked. She didn't care about all of that. But it was suddenly bothering her. She didn't like the thought of it. She just got the worst feeling deep in her gut when she thought of it.

She ignored it.

But it was back. And it was distracting. She started to wonder why the thought of Bulma with Vegeta made her want to hunt the prince down and throw him into a black hole. She didn't completely like Vegeta, but she didn't hate him. But when the thought of them together enters her mind she suddenly despises him. What did Bulma see in him anyway? He was a bastard that didn't even care about Bulma and Trunks in the beginning.

She groaned. Vegeta.

"What's with that groan? "

"Nothing" she added a bit too much pressure to her project and almost broke it. She sighed as she made sure there were no damages. Distractions. She doesn't like to be distracted. Distractions cause accidents and accidents could lead to so many things.

She caught Bulma staring again and raised eyebrow. Why was she blushing? Since when does she blush while staring at her?

"Bulma, why are you blushing? "

Bulma didn't want to admit it. Sarada can be very smug.

"You should put on a shirt"

"Why? I kinda like being shirtless"

"Put on a shirt"

Sarada observed Bulma for a moment. She was embarrassed about something. She was embarrassed about staring. Sarada furrowed her brows. Why was she embarrassed about that? She had looked down on herself again and adopted a look of realization.

"Wait, does me being shirtless bother you? "

Bulma refused to look at Sarada as she nodded. She heard Sarada chuckle and got annoyed.

"Who would have thought "

"Don't start"

Sarada chuckled again. That was interesting. Bulma was embarrassed because she was staring at her. Sarada found it amusing.

"So, you want me to put on a shirt? "

"Yes"

Sarada hummed as if in deep thought. She smiled as she looked back to Bulma.

"I don't feel like putting on a shirt. You can enjoy the view a bit longer"

"Don't be so smug, there's nothing special about your abs"

"So you were looking at my abs"

Bulma realized she had been caught and stuffed her face with cake in her embarrassment and annoyance. She despised Sarada at the moment.

"I worked hard to achieve this beautiful six pack"

Sarada was very proud of herself and made sure Bulma knew it.

"Stop being so smug"

"Fine" Sarada stopped being a tease and went back to her work in progress.

~~~~~~~~~

Sarada was contemplating again. The ship was slightly darker than usual as she felt the pressure of gravity on her body. It was nothing. She was already used to it. She was munching on the last batch of chocolate chip. Like the last time she was watching Bulma train. She was still shirtless. She enjoyed the freedom it granted her. A flustered Bulma was just a bonus.

At the moment she was trying to figure out her feelings. She had been pushing it to the back of her mind because she just didn't focus too much on her emotions. She couldn't keep it up though. It's not very healthy to ignore emotions.

What was she feeling?

She was clueless. She just stared at Bulma and tried to figure out what was wrong with her. She recounted everything that had taken place in the last seven days. She had gotten closer to the girl and it was fun. She always got along with Bulma, that was obvious. They both liked practically the same thing. She enjoyed getting along with someone who understood her to some point.

But what was she feeling?

"I am so confused"

~~~~~~~~

Bulma needed to distract herself from thinking too much about Sarada. What better way to do so than training under intense gravity? It took her some time but she finally realized what the hell was up with her. Why she was so curious about the other girl and why she was always disappointed when Sarada refused to talk.

She kicked the air and caught glimpse of said girl. She was staring at her. She was pensive. What was she trying to figure out this time?

Bulma sighed.

She didn't know what to do with the sudden realization. It made things complicated. She liked things as they were. Her sudden realization would change everything. Maybe Sarada won't care or notice but it will be bothering Bulma to an extent. Bulma knew that Sarada wasn't the type to focus on her emotions. She liked to be calm, think, train, eat, experiment. Emotions came in none of those unless it had to do with her wish to protect her family.

If Sarada felt the same way, she most likely didn't know it herself.

And then there's the possibility of Sarada not feeling the same. She was very casual around her and didn't seem like she had any special feelings, but then again, Sarada wouldn't know. Bulma figured it must be something about saiyans. She was a saiyan now, but she's still human at heart and mind to some degree. She could acknowledge her feelings. Sarada couldn't.

It complicated things.

~~~~~~

Sarada was starting to worry. Bulma was really putting a lot of energy and focus into her training. She had done such a thing mutlple times before and it always ended up with her exhausted to the point she's too weak to keep herself standing. It was the reason why Sarada took to watching her when she trained. She always made sure to be there just in case Bulma ended up doing such a thing again.

She was doing it again.

It was only a matter of time before she runs out of whatever fuel was keeping her running.

Bulma's knees suddenly buckled and Sarada was there to catch her in an instant. She was curious to know why Bulma overdid it again, but said nothing as she carefully pulled her into her arms and made her way to her room.

"Thanks"

"You're welcome" Sarada kicked her door open and carried her into the space. "You should stop overdoing it "

Bulma said nothing as she was placed on her bed and climbed under the covers. She sighed in content. She could hardly move and was overly weak. She over did it.

"Can I have a senzu? "

Sarada nodded and reached into the pouch at her waist. She had but a couple remaining. She retrieved a lone senzu and offered it to the tired Bulma.

She sighed again when her strength returned. She'd take a break from training for the time being.

"Where are we going? "She suddenly remembered that Sarada never told her where they were headed. She only said that they had to take a detour.

"An interesting planet that is home to a fascinating tree"

"We're looking for a tree? "

"Yes, a special tree"

"What's so special about it? "

"You'll see when we find it"

"Why can't you just tell me things like a normal person? "

"I'm not a normal person"

Good point. Bulma scooted over in her bed and motioned for Sarada to climb in. Sarada only stared at the offered spot.

"Why do I need to stay with you this time? "

"Because I want you to" Bulma said bluntly.

Sarada still didn't move.

"Sarada just get in"

Sarada shrugged and did as told. She climbed into her bed and under the covers. It was comfortable, at least. She still didn't know why Bulma always invited her to stay in her bed. She almost always ends up being a literal pillow.

So she was not surprised to find Bulma on top of her, as usual.

"I told you to put on a shirt"

"I told you I didn't want to"

"You should have put on a shirt"

Sarada sighed. "Fine, I'll go get a shirt"

"It's too late now. You're not moving"

"Then why are you bringing it up? "

"Because you should have listened "

Sarada made a sound in her throat at the statement and said nothing more. Maybe she should have just put on a shirt. The only reason she didn't put one on was because of the new type of freedom and because Bulma was bothered by it. It was fun.

Her tail had wrapped around Bulma's waist, as usual. She was still trying to figure out why it did that. It wasn't something she did consciously.

"The saiyan tail can give away emotion" Bulma suddenly said. She had her head on Sarada's chest and could clearly hear her heartbeat. It was calm. "That's what I came to notice"

"Good observation "

"You can tell when I'm happy because of the way my tail twitches"

"Yup"

"And when you're excited your tail moves rapidly, have you noticed? "

"Yes"she had. It was one of the things she noticed about herself. Although she doesn't pay much attention to her tail's relation to her emotions.

"So, what emotion makes you wrap your tail around my waist? "

Sarada shrugged. "I don't know. I just end up doing it "

Bulma hummed. "Maybe it represents possessiveness "

"Why do you say that? "

It seemed natural. Of course Bulma was running off her own theory.

"Hey Sarada, I've been thinking"

"About? "

"Nothing much, I just think I should get myself a boyfriend. I think I'm old enough. Wouldn't that be interesting? "

Bulma grinned when she heard Sarada's heartbeat increase almost immediately. She even felt her tail tighten around her waist.

She was right.

She giggled.

"What are you laughing about? "

"You're possessive"

Sarada grumbled. "No I'm not"

"You're tail tightened around me. You don't like the idea of me having a boyfriend"

"You can do whatever you want"

Bulma elevated herself a bit. She was supporting herself on her elbows as she looked at the grumbling Sarada. She was conflicted.

"I can do whatever I want? "

"Yes, it's your life"

Bulma smiled. "So if I wanted to, I could kiss you? "

Sarada blinked. What?

"Huh? "

"I can do whatever I want" Bulma repeated. "And I want to kiss you"

"What? "