Chapter 1: Housing an Internecine Cockalorum
"It is better to live one day as a Lion, than a thousand days as a Lamb."
She had told herself that she would stay strong in the face of death. She would not fear him, nor would she give way to shaking knees in the midst of this sunshine-strewn grass. She had built a stone wall around her emotional defenses, stone by stone. Each blast that she'd seen end a person's life, each moment that she'd been closer to death, her heart had hardened. Perhaps she had built this wall too well.
Without a second glance at the ebony flames that formed his mane, or glancing into the menacing irises that had watched the deaths of billions, she had held Death's gaze and invited him into her home. As if she was happy to set out finger sandwiches and a pot of tea for his company.
Surprisingly, he had relented to her solicitation.
Bulma Briefs now had the singular conundrum of housing one galactic murderer known as Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans. Possibly the most maniacally power hungry creature that she'd ever met, and Bulma had practically commanded the Prince to stay on the Capsule Corporation premises. She could feel her pulse thrumming feverishly in her head.
Bulma wasn't sure what possessed her to lump Vegeta in with the Namekians and bring them all to Capsule Corp. The Namekians certainly deserved a place to stay, they had been through enough trouble. Inviting Vegeta had been an afterthought.
Of course, there were many reasons to keep Vegeta nearby. No one was better equipped than Bulma to keep an eye on the homicidal Saiyan Prince. She was the only one with near-unlimited resources to feed and house him as well. Bulma would stand the best chance at keeping him from killing people, but she also felt that she owed a small piece of thanks to Vegeta.
Perhaps it was the fact that he had shown her the smallest measure of mercy on Namek. He'd had the chance to kill her, with nothing more than a flick of his wrist, and he'd simply left her there. Granted, Bulma had been pretty much slated to die on that planet if Dende hadn't wish everyone to Earth, but it was a kindness nonetheless. Another reason was he had given her the only other option of bringing Goku and Krillin back from the dead. Again, the Prince of Saiyans could've stayed silent and kept his place as the strongest warrior alive, but he'd given the title up mere minutes after she'd lost hope.
The ruminating figure of her thoughts was still lingering in the shadows of the trees, and Bulma couldn't help but admire how the remnants of his armor and suit clung to his rippling muscles.
Besides the fact that he's an arrogant jerk, Bulma thought, Vegeta is pretty cute. The one positive note was that she wouldn't be without eye-candy while Yamcha was gone.
What am I saying? …He's probably going to murder me in my sleep if I so much as breathe in his direction. The blue-haired genius sighed, silently agreeing to herself that it might be best to count to ten before making impulsive decisions from that moment forward.
Bulma had created the timely interruption of the liftoff of her father's newest ship, with more of the Z Gang prepared to head for Namek. Her father and accompanying friends brought an airship to carry everyone to the large estate.
"Home, sweet home," Bulma sighed with relief as the large CC logo came into view.
As the hum of the engines began to lessen, her father glanced behind his shoulder again before whispering to her, "And you're sure these people are peaceful, dear?"
"I promise that they're harmless dad, they won't cause any trouble. Well, at least none of the green guys will. I can't guarantee anything about Vegeta," The young heiress answered in kind.
She wasn't sure why she was whispering, seeing as the Monkey Prince had declined to share space with the Namekians and the others in the back, choosing to fly beside the airship instead. The ship landed with a light thud, the doors opening and streaming in sunshine. The Namekians and her friends were smiling while gazing at the sky, sunlight warming her cheeks as she smiled.
It was such a change from the last moments of Namek, it felt surreal, a dream.
Her home was just as she remembered it, with a few new additions to the house and a large spaceship that sat on the large grounds near the private residences of the Briefs. Her bedroom had been frozen in time, nothing moved or changed since she'd left. Her mother must've had someone come in and clean however, because her lab had remained untouched
The rest of the day was filled with embarrassing moments credited to Bulma's mother, reminiscing with the remaining Z Gang and Professor Briefs' informing Bulma of everything that she had missed on the business-end of Capsule Corporation for the past few months. It brought her mind rushing back, grounding her in the reality of what she'd left behind. The day culminated in a large, buffet style dinner for everyone beneath a star-blanketed sky. It was almost like old times, if Bulma ignored that most of her friends and loved ones were dead.
Oh, and she couldn't forget there was a mass murderer simultaneous brooding and eating in a far-off corner.
Filling up her plate a second time, Bulma gazed at the talkative groups interspersed through the grounds, still finding herself heading towards Vegeta against her better judgement. She could face Death Incarnate once more before the end of the day. Couldn't she?
"Hey, mind if I sit here?" Although Vegeta's plates seem to be doing a pretty good job of taking up most of the space, Bulma noticed. All Saiyans must have an incredible appetite if the process of the Prince eating by inhalation was any indication.
Nothing more than a quiet 'hmph' was gifted to her from the Prince of Saiyans as he continued to stuff his face. Bulma had to give him credit though, not a crumb was spilled. He certainly had better manners than Goku.
Bulma brought up the subject that everyone had been talking about that day, "Aren't you glad that Freiza's dead? Shouldn't you be just as happy as the rest of us?" She didn't catch the flash of anger in his eyes at the mention of their dead enemy.
"I doubt that I would find the capacity for happiness to be even slightly useful and the action of feeling happy to be even less so," His voice had bit out the word 'happy' contemptuously, as if it had burnt his tongue. He'd yet to glance up at her since she'd sat down to eat.
"… Right," She ran a hand through her hair, feeling more awkward by the second. Her focus fixated on the broken armor that Vegeta wore. The small, scarred spot in his flesh, concentrated over his heart, was the point where the light had left the Prince's eyes.
"So you don't care?" The question ended lamely as she realized the absurdity of her question. Bulma Briefs didn't typically flounder at social gathers or at conversations. Maybe she'd stayed on Namek for a little too long.
"I am satisfied that Freiza has finally been wiped from the face of this galaxy, Earthling," The dark words sent a shiver up Bulma's spine despite the heat in the air. Looking up, she was trapped in the Prince's gaze.
"What are you going to do now that Freiza is gone? Will you head back into space?" The Capsule Corp. heiress attempted to not sound too hopeful.
Nothing more than a mere shrug was her answer. Bulma had officially written Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, as a difficult person to live with and it'd only been one day. She wasn't looking forward to his indefinite residence.
Bulma twirled her fork while continuing to speak, "So, does that mean you plan on staying long? I'll go ahead and let my mother know to make up a room for you-"
"Do you always prattle on like this?" The Saiyan Prince interrupted her, "I have withstood your incessant questions because you have offered me this pitiful semblance of hospitality, but I have tired of this conversation. Leave me, woman,"
Bulma's jaw dropped at his dismissal, but she came short of any words, she was nothing more than a soundless gape. Vegeta continued to eat, now ignoring her presence with ease.
Taking a deep breath, the blue beauty remembered to count to ten before attempting something rash, but the Royal-Pain-in-Her-Ass made it more than difficult to keep her reasonably calm demeanor. She set her fork down and steepled her fingers before setting her chin upon her delicate knuckles.
Her voice was deceptively calm as she leaned closer to him, whispering "Vegeta, I will give you this singular warning. My 'pitiful' hospitality is the only kind that you will probably receive on this entire planet, so you better begin acting a little more grateful. Otherwise, I will have to take back my invitation and you can go live with Goku's family in wilderness. I'm sure you'd enjoy that very much,"
She stood abruptly and flashed a dazzling smile at the stunned Saiyan before bidding him a cheerful, "Goodnight Vegeta! Enjoy the rest of your dinner,"
This was the first moment that Vegeta, Prince of the Ancient Warrior Race known as the Saiyans, was both surprised and intrigued by a woman. The Earthling known as Bulma stood up to him, even though he could easily destroy her entire life and planet and probably get away with it. He intimidated her, sure, but it seemed that since their first meeting on Namek, something had changed.
Bulma had invited him to stay at her home, but he was sure that she had an ulterior motive. Everyone always wanted something. Vegeta has learned that early on in his service to Freiza.
Snorting, he continued to finish off his third helping. He would find out soon enough, he knew how to break those with soft hearts and woman was certainly of that type. She had even attempted to hold a conversation with him, boring him with droll subjects that held no importance to him. Freiza being gone, Vegeta would not allow himself to be used or manipulated. Not ever again.
The woman had asked why he was staying and for how long, and Vegeta knew he would stay as long as it took to achieve his goal. He wasn't here to make friends on this tedious mudball. He would train here until he was able to discover the secret of Kakarot's power from the imbecile when he came back and then Vegeta would disappear.
He would stay until he became the Legendary.
After attaining the elusive power and defeating Kakarot once and for all, Vegeta would leave. Depending on his mood at the end of his sojourn on Earth, he'd either destroy the despicable planet, or he'd simply leave to become the emperor of the galaxy.
It was settled.