Disclaimer:  I do not own DBZ, nor do I own "Big Machine."  They belong to their respective owners.

A/N:  Hi!  This is my first song fic, as well as my first DBZ fic.  It is obviously to the tune of "Big Machine" by the Goo-Goo dolls.  I was inspired to write this after reading Yuna Leonhart's "Unforgiven."  If you have not read it, I highly suggest you do because it rocks.  Please R&R!

Big Machine

            The sun was dipping below the horizon, bathing Capsule Corp. in a deep crimson glow.  The scattered clouds in the sky were painted in hues of pink, purple and orange.  It was beautiful.  Bulma caught herself staring out the window of her lab, her eyes taking in the spectacular view.  Sighing heavily, she brushed a stray piece of blue hair from her face and turned her attention back to the task at hand.

            She had spent the last two weeks designing and building a new set of androids for Vegeta to spar with in the gravity room.  He destroyed all of the others she had made for him like they were nothing more than scrap metal.  As frustrated as it made her, Bulma was glad for the chance to push her scientific mind to the limit.

            Not that he appreciates it, she thought to herself as she finished connecting the circuitry of the prototype.  Shutting the back of the android, she mumbled under her breath "Stupid monkey prince."

Ecstasy is all you need

Living in the big machine now

Oh, you're so vain

            Bulma shut off the lights in her lab and stepped out into the cool evening air.  A few stars now dotted the deepening indigo sky.  She smiled up at them, wondering at the mysteries they held.  But that smile soon disappeared as thoughts of the androids invaded her mind.  Their arrival was now only a year away.  Shaking her head, she began walking towards the house, the familiar buzz of the gravity room invading her ears.

            Before she reached the door, a loud crash followed by an intense string of obscenities made Bulma practically jump out of her skin.  The sound of the machinery faded into obscurity.  Not again…

Now your world is way too fast

Nothing's real and nothing lasts

            Bulma rushed over to the gravity room in a frenzy.  As she approached, Vegeta emerged from within.  His spandex pants were shredded and a mixture of blood and sweat glistened on his bare chest, but he seemed otherwise okay.  Bulma breathed a sigh of relief to see that he was still standing.  That thought caused her to stop cold, casting her gaze to the ground.  Why do I care if he's alright or not?  My life would be so much easier if that arrogant asshole blew himself up.

            She looked back up at Vegeta, who gave her a look of confusion for a split second before it was overtaken by a scowl.

            "Woman!  This piece of crap is broken again.  Fix it now!"

            Anger welled up in Bulma as she placed her hands on her hips, staring the Prince in the eye defiantly.  "You know, if you would quit breaking it, I would not need to fix it constantly."

            "If you were not so incompetent, it would not break all of the time!"

            This situation was all too familiar for Bulma.  They were always locked in a battle of wills, and neither was willing to budge an inch.  Throwing her arms up in the arm, she simply turned around and began to walk away without responding.  She was not in the mood for one of Vegeta's temper tantrums.  Unfortunately, this only succeeded in irritating him further.

            "You will fix it NOW, woman!!"

            "NO!  It's time for dinner, monkey boy," Bulma shouted back as she continued to walk away.  But Vegeta was determined to get his way.  He flew passed her and placed himself directly in her path.

            "Such insolence!  I have killed for less than this!"

            Bulma folded her arms across her chest.  "Then who would fix your precious gravity room?"

            At a loss for words, Vegeta simply growled at her and stormed off towards the house, flinging open the door and slamming it behind him so hard the whole place shook.  Bulma giggled in spite of herself, thinking about how cute he was when he was angry.  And as much of a stuck-up pain in the ass he was, he did have a few admirable qualities.  His dedication to his training was phenomenal.  He trained with an intensity few would ever possess.

            She shook her head as she reached the front door, pausing.  These feelings weren't anything new.  Lately she had noticed her thoughts drifting to Vegeta more and more, even though he mostly treated her like yesterday's trash.  There was a fire inside of him that Yamcha had always lacked.  She was drawn to it.

            "Oh, Bulma," she said aloud to herself, "You need to forget about him.  The only time he acknowledges your existence is when he's hungry or something needs to be fixed.  He's an asshole."  But in her head she added A gorgeous hunk of an asshole.

And I'm aware

I'm in love but you don't care

            Bulma emerged from her bedroom later that evening in a pair of cotton pants and a tank top.  Fortunately her father had offered earlier to fix the gravity room for her since she had been working in the lab all day.  She was looking forward to a little rest and relaxation in front of the TV.

            All the lights were off in the living room.  Bulma gave a silent shrug and entered the room, making her way over to the lamp by the couch.  Turning it on, the room was filled with a soft glow.  When she pivoted around to take a seat on the couch, she jumped back and gave an ear-piercing shriek. 

            Vegeta had snuck up behind her and his sudden appearance had startled her.  His hands shot instinctively to his sensitive ears in an attempt to protect them from the high-pitched cry.

            "Dammit, woman!  Maybe you should scream louder next time.  I think a few people in the other world didn't hear you!"

            "Shut up, Vegeta.  It's your fault for sneaking up behind me like that."

            Vegeta glared at her with his cold onyx eyes.  "Why is that idiot father of your fixing my gravity room?"

            Bulma returned the gaze with an equal iciness.  "First of all, he is not an idiot.  And second, I've had a long day working on your androids and I'm tired."

            "I don't care."

            "Big surprise there."

            Bulma sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote.  She started flipping through the channels, looking for something interesting to watch.  Vegeta just stood there with his arms crossed, staring down at the blue-haired woman.  She became aware that he had not left and she looked up at him, irritated.

            "Now what?" she asked harshly.

            "When will my new training androids be finished?"

            Completely fed up at that point, Bulma stood up, shaking the remote at Vegeta menacingly.  "Have you heard a single word I said?  You're a selfish bastard, Vegeta.  One of these days I outta…"  She did not get a chance to finish that sentence.  Vegeta grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her roughly up against the wall, pinning her there.

            "Don't you EVER threaten the Saiyan Prince!" he screamed at her.  Bulma's eyes grew wide with fright.  Vegeta had never been physically violent with her before.  He held her tightly, looking straight into her eyes, and she into his.  Neither of them moved.  They just stood there, staring.  Then suddenly, something changed.

Turn your anger into lust

I'm still here but you don't trust at all

And I'll be waiting

            Vegeta's grip began to loosen and a strange look came over his face.  He continued to look her in the eye, but his were no longer filled with anger and hate.  His arms dropped to his sides as he backed away from Bulma as she watched him, breathless.  But as quickly as his guard had come down, it was back again.  He spun around and fled the room.

            When she heard the front door open and shut, Bulma slid down the wall into a sitting position, holding her knees close to her chest.  So many thoughts crashed like waves over her as she tried to figure out what in Kami's name had just transpired.  What she had seen in his eyes; a glimpse of what lay hidden behind the cold steel exterior.

            It couldn't have been, could it? she thought.  But there was no denying it.  Bulma knew what she saw.  In that one moment she saw into Vegeta's heart, and witnessed the longing contained within it.  I can't leave it like this…

Love and sex and loneliness

Take what's yours and leave the rest

So I'll survive

Man it's good to be alive

            With lightening quick speed Bulma raced out the front door after Vegeta.  She did not even bother to put on shoes in her rush.  Across the lawn she tore, running towards the gravity room which had already been turned on.  Dad must have finished fixing it.

            When she reached the door, Bulma pounded violently on it.  "Vegeta!" she cried, collapsing to the ground from the effort and taking in harsh, shallow breaths.  But it was not in vain.  She stared up at the doorway as she heard the gravity room power down and the door fly open, revealing an alarmed Vegeta.

            "What is going on, woman?" he asked as he scanned around for what he had assumed was a threat.  But sensing no powerful ki nearby, he stared down at the woman at his feet, confused.

I'm torn in pieces

I'm lying here waiting for-

My heart is reeling

I'm blind and waiting for you

            "Ve…Vegeta…I…"  Bulma tried to speak as she was catching her breath and struggling to stand.  But she stood too fast, and the world began to spin.  She shut her eyes and could feel herself falling.  She prepared for a rough landing, but it never came.  When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Vegeta's arms.  He steadied her and gave her a questioning look, but did not let her go.

            "Woman, what is wrong with you?"

            It took Bulma a moment to recover from the shock of Vegeta's behavior.  She would have expected him to have let her fall to the ground and smirk.  "I need to talk to you."

            "I have no time for this nonsense.  I need to continue my training," he replied letting go of her much to her disappointment. 

            "Don't you ever think of anything else besides training and fighting?"

            "No.  There is nothing else.  And I will not stop to rest until I can defeat Kakarot and become a Super-Saiyan."  Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and turned to reenter the gravity room.  Bulma was not going to let him get away that easily, though.

Still in love with all your sins

Wait and stop and I begin

And I'll – I'll be waiting

            Bulma grabbed Vegeta's arm to try and stop him, but he shook her away violently.  His anger was rising rapidly, and she realized that, but she kept pushing anyway.

            "There is so much more to life and I know that you know it.  I saw it in your eyes, the desires in your heart!" she shouted.

            "You really are a stupid, pathetic fool!  Emotions have no place in the heart of a warrior!" he yelled back.  "Now get away from me, woman, before I decide you are more trouble than you are worth."

            His words stung, more than Bulma ever thought possible.  Tears were beginning to form, but there was no way she would let him see her cry.  Turning her back to him, she began to walk away.  Before she was out of earshot, she shouted back to him.

            "You're just afraid.  Afraid that you might actually care about someone, and for them to return the gesture!"

            "I fear nothing, woman!"

            "Keep telling yourself that!"

Living like a house on fire

What you fear is your desire

            Bulma broke into a sprint, needing to get as far way from the Prince as possible.  Tears streamed down her face as she entered the house and fled to the safety of her bedroom.  After slamming the door behind her, she flung herself unceremoniously onto her bed.  Burying her face in a pillow, Bulma let go of all restraint and sobbed uncontrollably.  She had let her guard down, and allowed herself to hope.  But Vegeta ripped her apart and left her broken.

            You were wrong, Bulma.  It was all wishful thinking.  She chastised herself over and over again in her mind for allowing her emotions to cloud her judgment.  She pulled herself into a fetal position and shut her eyes, tears running freely.

It's hard to deal

I still love the way you feel.

            She tried to forget about it, concentrate on something, anything else, but to no avail.  The feel of his strong arms encircling her body, the way he ran out of the gravity room when he thought she was in danger; it was all so fresh in her mind.  Bulma sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, wishing she could feel it again.

            I just don't understand.  I was so sure.

            She attempted to figure out what went wrong.  It was not as if he was completely awful to her all the time.  She thought back to when she had broken up with Yamcha for good.  Sobbing in the living room, she had felt so dejected.  Vegeta came into the room and she screamed at him to leave.  He did, but not before placing a carton of her favorite ice cream and a spoon on the coffee table in front of her.  It was a small gesture, but it was the closet thing to kindness he had ever shown anyone as far as she knew.  Of course the next day he shouted and ordered her around twice as much as usual.  When she asked him about the ice cream, he had gotten extremely defensive and told her that he brought it to her because he could not deal with her noise anymore and hoped it would shut her up.

            But maybe that was all it had been.  But I could have sworn I saw his cheeks turning red before he looked away.

Now this angry little girl

Drowning in this petty world

And I'm who you run to

            "I can't take it anymore!" she shrieked, grabbing a pillow as she sat up.  The pain was replaced with anger as she whipped the pillow across the room, knocking over a vase of roses in the process.  But then a thought crossed her mind.

            How can I face him?  I all but admitted that I had feelings for him. 

            There was no avoiding Vegeta, though.  If he wanted something, he ordered her and only her to do it, and if she was not around he would seek her out.  How would he act around her now?

Swallow all you bitter pills

That's what makes you beautiful

            Bulma did not want him to change.  Against all logic she wanted him the way he was.  She was an extraordinary woman and needed an extraordinary man.  And Vegeta was nothing if not extraordinary.  But at the same time she longed to break through his tough defenses and expose the emotions he kept locked tightly away.  Despite everything that evening, she just could not give up the belief that Vegeta was not as cold as he seemed to be, even if he himself did not believe it.  It was there, in his eyes.

You're all a lie

I don't need what you ain't got

            It was getting pretty late, and with a yawn Bulma decided to go to sleep and escape reality for awhile.  Wrapping herself protectively in her covers, she shut her eyes, and shut out the world.  Vegeta, why can't you see that I want you, and only you, the way you are?

I'm torn in pieces

I'm lying here waiting for –

My heart is reeling

I'm blind and waiting for you

            As she was falling asleep, Bulma heard a knock on her door.  Shit!  I probably woke my mother up with all the noise I was making.  She was not in the mood to talk to anyone, though.

            "Go away!"

I'm blind and waiting for you

            The only response she received was more knocking.  Letting out a groan, she threw the bed covers back and got up.  She headed towards the door in the dark.

I'm blind and waiting for you

            Bulma flung open the door and froze.  There, silhouetted in the faint moonlight from her windows, stood the last person she would have expected to see.

            Vegeta.

And I can't believe it's coming true

            So many emotions invaded her heart in that instant: pain, anger, desire, joy, fear.  She could not move.  Instead she just stood there, staring, though she managed to get one word out.  "Vegeta?"

            A single finger gently touched her lips, imploring her silence.

God it's good to be alive

And I'm still here and waiting for you

            The finger was soon replaced by a pair of lips that kissed hers with a tenderness she had never known.  All reason drained away as Bulma kissed back, reveling in it.  She could feel Vegeta's arms snake around her and pull her closer to him, holding her body tightly against his.  And they began to kiss with increased fervor.

And I can't believe it's coming true

            Vegeta moved forward, guiding their entwined bodies into Bulma's room and kicked the door shut with his foot.  Nothing mattered at all except the two of them, together, in a moment of perfect passion.  Bulma was not sure of what the next day would hold, but right then, she did not care as she pulled him towards her bed with wild abandon.

I'm blind and waiting for you

A/N:  So?  Did ya like it?  I hope so.  Anyway, this is the first in a series of song fic's that will revolve around Bulma and Vegeta.  They will be posted kind of far apart because I am currently working on a Final Fantasy 7 fic right now, and I already had put another one on hiatus (as in to be continued in the future).  Well, R&R please!