Work Text:
Bulma wasn't exactly proud of herself, but what could she say? This had been work she'd started back when she was still a teenager. She came across her notes one day while looking for one thing or another for a current project, and everything came flooding back. She couldn't resist. It was an invention of pure guilty pleasure now, though if she'd completed it in her younger days, it would have been something she flaunted proudly.
All it needed was a test run. And hey... She was a constant supply of food to her friends. If her calculations were correct, the effect should only last a few hours, at least in this dosage she'd cooked up. Surely there was no harm in using one of them as a guinea pig, leaving it up to chance to see who would be the one. So long as it wasn't herself, of course. She took her test tube, the liquid inside a fitting ombré of reds and pinks, to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Yamcha had let himself into Capsule Corp, which was a normal occurrence for any of Bulma's friends. "Bulma!" He called. The property was so big it wasn't uncommon to have trouble finding the owner. Hm. It was around lunchtime, so maybe she was eating, he reasoned. He didn't smell food but he headed towards the eating area anyway.
The place was empty. Yamcha was deciding where the next most logical place to look would be when he heard voices from nearby. "Sounds like it's coming from the kitchen," he mumbled to himself, already moving in that direction.
"-one cupcake. I know you'll have to make a second batch all just for one, but if you just dump the love potion in the batter for all the cupcakes - well, either everyone will be affected or it'll be spread too thin to have any effect at all," Bulma was explaining. She didn't want to have to deal with a whole crowd of her lovesick friends for the night. One was fun, but any more than that? Not so much. And she certainly didn’t want all her work to go to waste, even though she could make another potion. Yamcha stopped outside the door, tilting his head towards it.
"Just make sure you mark it subtly so I know which one it is." A few words from the servant that were too deep in the kitchen for Yamcha to hear clearly, but sounded like a confirmation. A delighted Bulma responded. "Thank you! You're the best." Now all that was left to do was invite some friends over. She only wanted a few. If there were too many it might be hard to keep an eye on who ate the cupcake, not to mention the commotion that would occur. When all her friends got together, chaos ensued. A few were more than enough.
Bulma turned to leave and Yamcha whipped aside, darting quickly yet silently away on his tiptoes. A love potion! This was perfect. After Bulma had broken up with him and Vegeta came into the picture, Yamcha feared he would never stand a chance again. But for one reason or another nothing ever happened between them, as far as Yamcha knew. They were close friends, and Bulma had certainly been physically attracted to the Saiyan prince, and yet...
Oh, this was perfect! All he had to do was get Bulma to eat the cupcake. Remind her of what it was like to be in love with him. Then he'd have a second chance for sure. He left Capsule Corp, knowing he'd return later.
Sure enough, he was invited for some company and snacks, along with Goku, Vegeta, and Tien and Chiaotzu. A small but intense crowd. Yamcha dressed up a little, but not enough to be too obvious. After some debate he included cologne in his get-up.
He was first to arrive. Good. He waited until another guest arrived - which happened to be Goku and Vegeta, both at the same time. Great. Those two together would definitely keep Bulma occupied long enough for him to inspect the cupcakes. Casually, he took an interest in them and identified one with a tear in its wrapper as Vegeta found something to snap at Goku about and Goku whined innocently in response, and Bulma did her best to keep the energy lighthearted. Finding no other inconsistencies, Yamcha carefully selected a different cupcake for himself. All he had to do was hand the baked-in love potion to her with the tear covered.
"Whoa, cupcakes! They smell great! Thanks Bulma!" Goku grinned, rushing right over to them. Vegeta entered the yard after him with his usual grumpy expression on his face, arms crossed.
Yamcha hesitated. Shit. He realized he would have to keep watch, and make sure no one picked the cupcake with the love potion until he could give it to Bulma. And of course, right off the bat, Goku had wrapped meaty fingers around that one cupcake. "H-hey, Goku! I think I saw a fly on that one, why don't you pick a different one?" Yamcha offered, laughing nervously.
"Huh? Oh, thanks, Yamcha! I don't mind though, really!" Goku grinned, lifting it out of the container. Yamcha felt part of his soul leave his body. "NO!" He shouted. "I-I mean a fly didn't land on it! I sneezed on it! So it's mine, I was gonna grab it after this one!"
"Oh, I see." Goku giggled, placing the cupcake back and grabbing a different one. "Don't try to save them all for yourself that way!" He grinned before leaving the cupcake table with his prize. One wasn't nearly enough for the Saiyan, but there were other people around and Bulma always yelled at him if he ate too much, especially before anyone else got the chance to have any.
Yamcha wheezed in relief. He didn't notice Vegeta narrowing his eyes at him from across the yard where he was brooding. In fact, he didn't notice it for the rest of the night either. He spent his whole time there by the cupcakes, coming up with excuses to prevent anyone from eating *that one.* He hadn't seen Bulma have one of the different snacks she had out or mention being hungry. No sense offering her one if she'd only turn it down then expect him to eat it.
Unknown to Yamcha, the reason Bulma and Vegeta had never blossomed into anything more than friends was because he liked Goku. He had always liked Goku. Not always in that way, but.. from the moment they'd met, something had pulled the Prince towards the younger Saiyan. Told him to wait, hold on, there was something else here. And sure enough, all their years and time together, and those feelings had only gotten more intense, shifting to something more than rivalry or kinship. Vegeta, while he acknowledged them begrudgingly, was terrible with and fearful of any emotion of the sort. So he'd kept completely quiet. Hadn't told a soul. He sort of hoped that one day, he would have the courage to.
Eventually, he had enough. He stormed up to Yamcha, who practically yelped upon seeing the Saiyan approaching and had begun babbling before Vegeta had even laid a hand on him. Another yelp as he was grabbed by the shirt and dragged around the side of Capsule Corp, back pushed against the wall.
"What the hell are you up to? You've been acting suspicious all night," Vegeta demanded, glaring up at him.
Yamcha swallowed. "W-what do you mean? I'm just trying to keep the p-party–!" He yelped. All Vegeta had to do was glare. "O-okay, okay! Bulma put a love potion in that cupcake I've been protecting and I wanted to give it to her to remind her of how we used to be!" Then he slapped a hand over his mouth. "It only lasts for a few hours. I just wanted to remind her.." He repeated, more sheepishly.
"A love potion?" Vegeta asked, bewildered. Could something like that really exist? Well, if it could, Bulma would be the one to invent it. He looked towards the cupcakes in question across the yard, as did Yamcha. Both of their stomachs dropped upon seeing Goku lift the infused cupcake out of the tin. "Goku!" They shouted simultaneously, but Vegeta was there ahead of Yamcha. However, the Saiyan had already popped the whole thing, sans torn wrapper, into his mouth.
The Prince grabbed Goku's gi. "Goku! Don't swallow that!" He demanded. Then he watched in disbelief as the Saiyan's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Huh? Why not, Vegeta?"
Vegeta felt rage build up and boil over within seconds. "You IDIOT! If I said not to swallow it, why did you immediately swallow it?!" He demanded, getting up in his face. But Goku didn't respond how he should have responded. Vegeta saw the change in his expression. It happened slowly, over what must have been the course of a few seconds, but it felt like minutes. Oh no.
Goku's eyes shone, a slow and slightly dopey smile growing on his lips. "Vegeta..." He hummed, taking the Prince's hands in his own. Vegeta stiffened, an odd sort of squeak leaving him. "W-wait a minute, Kakarot—" He tried to pull away, but with every tug of his hands or step backwards, Goku was on him.
"You're so cute," Goku almost whispered, eyes big and pupils blown. He wouldn't take them off Vegeta.
"No, Kakarot! Stop," Vegeta sputtered, turning redder by the second. He didn't know where to look, removing Goku's hands, shoving them back down to his sides only to have them clasp over his own again and again.
"You're so cute, Vegeta. Wow," Goku smiled. Vegeta squeezed his eyes shut.
"No," he whispered. "Not like this. Tell that to me..." He blushed, eyelids fluttering open though his gaze landed towards the ground. His voice dropped below a whisper. "...without the potion."
Bulma made a loud noise of triumph, rushing over to the pair. "It worked! My love potion worked!"
"You shouldn't be using your friends as test subjects without telling them first!" Vegeta snapped at her. Goku didn't even seem bothered by the information. It didn't matter. None of it mattered, except Vegeta.
"...well, it seems more like an infatuation potion than a love potion. But still pretty amazing, huh?" Bulma said with a wink, ignoring Vegeta's chastisement.
Vegeta scowled in response. Goku wrapped his arms around the Prince and bent over awkwardly to rest his head on his shoulder, big puppy eyes blinking at him. Vegeta flushed. Whatever. Only for a few hours...
And so Vegeta spent the rest of the night brooding at a lone table with Goku clung to one of his crossed arms, occasionally talking about how cute or great or strong or wonderful Vegeta was. It wasn't all that bad, honestly. The attention was a little exaggerated and overwhelming, but.. It was kind of nice, for a change. The nature of it was there, close to what Vegeta had wanted for a long time. Eventually, the content Saiyan fell asleep, drooling on Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta huffed softly through his nose, sneaking a glance down at him. He supposed by the time he woke up, the effects would be gone.
One day.