Author's notes: I couldn't help myself. Netflix-induced inspiration. All reviews welcome, of course! I do not own Dragon Ball Z, its characters, or any other creative license for the series.

Vegeta cursed bitterly under his breath at the alarm clock screeching from his wife's nightstand. It was 3 a.m., and even though he was an early riser he hated the damn thing. Bulma placed it there so he wouldn't destroy it like the other wall clocks they once had. He thought they were too loud and outdated for their technologically advanced home, but she seemed to like "cheap human antiques." After using his pyrokinetic powers to burn holes through a couple clocks, he later realized that she was teasing him. She found it far more entertaining than arguing over it. For his part, Vegeta mocked her concerns that their estate would go up in flames one day because of his hostility.

"I have a good track record," he always told her.

In the years since they became partners, he had learned to relish silence in the mornings before he trained. He also enjoyed watching Bulma sleep, which often relieved his darker moods. Sometimes he woke up with her head on his chest or feet caressing his ankles. Their seamless intimacy aroused emotions deep inside of him. He realized how much he craved that closeness every single time he gently kissed her neck down to the lowest part of her abdomen. Only when her back arched from the sensation did he enter her body for sex. Sometimes they would strike their fists against the bed, or each other, until she moved up higher to receive all of him. His feverish panting and moaning revealed an intense, unquenchable thirst, while her head moved furiously from side to side until her shouting echoed from the walls.

The pleasure they felt those days was never, ever long enough, but lately Bulma seemed more distracted. Instead of making it a problem, Vegeta concentrated further on his own training and mentored eager - and fearful - students forced on him by "Master Krillin." He chuckled about how they were reluctant allies as fighters in years past. Now the diminutive ex-monk had managed to become a respected sensei. He sent Vegeta his best pupils, who all had their asses kicked mightily. The students appeared to appreciate every painful minute of it.

Bulma had been setting the alarm earlier to leave for work, but this time Vegeta considered ripping the sheets from their bed until she acknowledged his misery. He usually had a hard time falling back to sleep. The noise didn't rouse her, though, presumably because of her own tiredness. She opened her eyes briefly to greet him before he left hours later. Then she returned to her slumber.

"Ah, well," he said quietly. "You will pay for this," and he almost always kept his word.

The couple also shared responsibility for making breakfast and taking daughter Bulla to school. Vegeta often liked having his "princess" all to himself, which happened this day because Bulma would likely sleep through the morning. He also hadn't told his wife yet about his training with Bulla. He had been conducting their sessions for weeks. When Bulma wasn't up too early, he usually got her to leave the house at "normal" hours so he could have uninterrupted time with the child.

###

Bulla showed just as much promise for fighting as her older brother Trunks did at her age, and she was just as intelligent. Her father took great satisfaction from that knowledge, even if she decided not to follow his exact path later in life. In all truth, he wanted her to grow up applying Bulma's smarts for solving technical problems and his physical strength for defending herself whenever she needed. Humans had long been able to imprint basic education on children's minds from infancy, much like the Saiyan race he came from, but they still required more advanced learning as they matured. Bulla's brainpower, however, outpaced her peers. It annoyed Vegeta that she was surrounded by kids who weren't "at her level." At least he felt that way. Bulma said the girl needed to socialize more.

Although he trained constantly, Vegeta's intellect was just as far-reaching as his Saiyan powers. He had always been an incredibly fast learner. He had to be. He also knew his wife's intelligence matched the best scientists he knew while serving with Frieza's galactic army. Together they were quite a pair. Their half-Saiyan half- human children had the best of both worlds, he felt.

Bulla said nothing about her training, of course, to avoid giving her parents another reason to bicker. Their arguments seemed different recently, but she didn't know why. She often thought most adults acted strangely. Bulma worried some days about the girl's exhaustion but later blamed it on tough school work, while Vegeta ignored it. He vowed to tell her why soon, though. He couldn't understand why she was more protective with Bulla than with Trunks, whose advanced Saiyan powers emerged at age eight. He believed - he knew - that threats to Earth and other parts of the universe were constant. So did Bulma. Perhaps she thought Bulla would be anxious about disappointing him. Regardless, their child was reaching an important milestone, and he intended to see her through it.

Where the hell is she? How can her assistants not know?

Vegeta couldn't find his spouse anywhere. It was getting late, and he wasn't pleased, especially since Bulla was coming home soon and would want to see her. He stomped impatiently through the house until he found the perfect target to vent his frustration.

"Trunks!"

"Yes, papa? Would you stop yelling, please? I am, like, three feet away from you."

"Have you seen your mother, and why are you here? Do you not have class this afternoon? You are at home way too much to justify her payments for your schooling and living quarters."

Annoyed, Trunks rolled over on the sofa and looked up at him. It looks like my old man is grumpier than usual today, although I suppose it's not that bad. There goes my nap time.

"Let's do this again, father. Try this greeting. 'Hello, precious son. Have you seen my lovely and eternally patient wife?'"

Vegeta snatched a pillow from underneath Trunks' head and dropped it on his face.

"I am not in the mood for your foolishness, boy - and your reflexes need improvement. Bulma has ruined my sleep the last two weeks with her awful work schedule. She is as exhausted as I am, but there is no reasoning with her. We are arguing too much about everything lately."

Trunks threw the pillow back at him and smiled. "Well, that's a first! You're getting soft in your old age. Here's a tip. You can sleep in another room. Our house has plenty, you know."

"Fine then, my 'precious son.'" Vegeta pressed a timer on his watch. "You have approximately forty-five seconds to leave here before I throw you out."

"All right, all right. Calm down. Mom was just leaving when I arrived midmorning, and she didn't say where she was going. She might be in the underground lab since neither of us can sense her presence, apparently."

"Yes, you are probably right." Vegeta rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I was too tired to remember that, I guess. I expected her back by now. She invited Chi-Chi for dinner at 5:45, and I do not intend to be around. You said what I need to know. Now get out."

"Aw, man." Trunks extended a hand to his father, face up, to taunt him. "Where's my reward?"

"You now have fifty seconds to leave, Trunks. That is your reward. I am doing you a favor."

"Well, papa, just do us all a favor and sleep somewhere else tonight. It might help with your crankiness… kind of. Also, may I borrow your red convertible tonight? I have a date."

Vegeta smirked and threw him the car keys. "Your time is up."

###

Bulma had designed her subterranean lab to withstand attacks based on Vegeta's regular testing of the compound. He usually could break in given his strength and first-hand knowledge of the site, but it also had weapons that could mutilate the most cunning invaders - or stall them for long periods. Bulma also added functions to make the lab's access points invisible. It was their crowning achievement, at least until Vegeta observed the infrared laser scan his body at the main work zone.

"Access denied. Intruder alert."

"What?!"