Warnings: Um, there is a character that Vegeta likes, sort of, other than Bulma, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. *Breaks down and cries * I do own 'Ray' and her person, and, of course, my dog Rusty. So don't sue, 'cause you don't want him, trust me.

Rating: Hmm. PG-13. It'll probably go up later.

Author's notes: Um, ............. *hides *

Even in Dreams.

Bulma slammed the pan down on the stove, cracking the metal surface and disjointing the handle. That made her feel much better, in the overall situation she was in. Then she sighed. Too bad she broke the pan, though. She shrugged and looked at the damage she had done. The entire surface was cracked. Oh well. She went downstairs to her lab to get some tools. It was while she was coming up with her bundle that she remembered exactly why she had broken the pan and stove. She scowled and growled one name, almost seeming to bite it as it came out from between her clenched teeth.

"Yamcha."

Almost on cue, the phone rang. She threw her tools onto the table, and picked up the receiver. She hoped it was Chi Chi.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe," a cocky voice said from the other end.

"Yamcha!" she yelled, disbelief evident in her every syllable. Yamcha chuckled from the other end, causing her blood to heat once more.

"Yeah, I know. But I forgive you Bulma. And if you promise to kiss and make up, then maybe we can start dating again." He said in a husky whisper. She could hardly believe the man's gall! She angrily slammed the phone down, causing it to jar in her hand, but not before she heard the words that sent a chill up her back.

"I'll see you tonight, babe."

She clenched her fists, trying to decide whether she was currently in a rage, or in a panic. She decided she could handle both for right now. Just then, Mr. High and Mighty walked in, an angry scowl on his face.

"Woman, stop making so much noise! You interrupted my training!" he shouted, going over to the fridge and taking out a bottle of water. Bulma put both hands to the sides of her head and then gave vent to a loud shriek.

"Eeeeeeaaaaagggggggghhhhhhh!!!!" Vegeta flinched violently, almost dropping his water. Saiyans have very good hearing, and Bulma's scream made his head ring. He scowled sourly at her.

"Thanks. I may have just lost the hearing in both my ears." She was breathing hard, but then her lower lip began to tremble, and she walked into the living room. Soon, he heard her quiet sobbing, much to his relief, and then annoyance. For one, he wasn't deaf after all, and two, the woman was crying. He sighed and finished the entire bottle, chucked it into the trashcan, and then wandered into the room. Bulma was lying on the couch with her face buried into a pillow, her shoulders shaking with what she was trying to keep silent. He lightly touched her shoulder, and she shoved his hand away, sitting up and frantically brushing her tears away.

"What do you want? And no, I can't just stop crying." She retorted. He smiled inwardly. She was so feisty. He sat on the edge of the couch and put on his mask of indifference. Bulma looked over at him, slightly taken aback that he hadn't yelled at her. What was he trying to do; freak her out? Instead, he sighed and leaned back, stretching his feet out to the table and folding his hands behind his head.

"All right, woman. What is it that's got you so upset?" he asked in a neutral voice. Bulma stared at him, trying to figure out if it was subterfuge or not. Finally she shrugged. She didn't really care anymore.

"Yamcha."

"Your boyfriend." He said with distaste. He hated that baka human. And now he had made his verbal sparring partner cry, indirectly causing him annoyance.

"We... We broke up." She said, her lip trembling once more. "I broke up with him last night." She said, suddenly wanting to pour out the whole story to someone, anyone, even if it was Vegeta. "We were supposed to go to his place to go out for a night out on the town." Preparing herself for the next part, she took a deep breath. Nonetheless, tears started anew to stream unchecked down her face. "When he didn't pick me up, I decided to drive over to his house to see if he was just late." How dumb that sounded now, she thought bitterly, then continued the story with new heat. "When I got there, I saw a red sports car in his driveway. It wasn't his, so I went inside his house to see if he had some buddy over." She flushed slightly. Now that sounded really dumb. She stole a glance at the Saiyan Prince to see if he was smirking. He wasn't. Strangely enough, his expression had not changed.

"Go on."

"Well, when I went in, he was sitting on the couch with another girl. I waited for a bit, hoping it might be a cousin or something." She laughed weakly. She couldn't believe herself, but kept on, determined to get the whole thing out. "I went up behind him and smacked his head. I told him it was over and then I stormed out and drove back here." She angrily wiped away the fresh tears and looked up at him. "And just now he tried to call and get back together. He said that he was ready to forgive me! Can you believe that?!" she practically shouted, causing him to wince once more. "Oh, sorry, Vegeta. Anyway, then he said he'd be over tonight before I hung up." She said, the old fear beginning to clutch her stomach again. She looked imploringly at the calm Saiyan before her.

"What should I do?" she asked, half expecting him to snort in her face and turn away. Instead, he turned his head to look at her strangely.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Vegeta, I can't do this alone." She said, almost begging him. To her surprise, he didn't even smirk. He stared up at the ceiling, and seemed to think about it.

"Well, under normal circumstances, you know what my solution would be..." She sighed.

"Yeah, kill him." She said, rolling her eyes. He chuckled, and the smile on his face made him appear even more handsome.

"Yes. But since you're the one with the problem, I'll make an exception. What do you say to me lying for you if you quit screeching you head off every time I turn a corner." Bulma giggled and nodded.

"Okay, Vegeta. You've got a deal. I'll leave the house for the night, and you can lie to Yamcha. Say something about me going out shopping. He'll believe that." Vegeta nodded and rose. He stretched, causing Bulma to let her eyes wander over him, and then flick away as he looked back at her.

"Settled. I'm going to go train. Let me know when you leave, then, so I can be prepared for player boy." Suddenly, Bulma gave an evil giggle that caught him off-guard. That was unlike her, and so was that gleam in her eyes.

"Yamcha's going to wet his pants when he sees you." She said, actually gloating at the prospect. Vegeta smirked and walked out of the house to leave the woman to her thoughts. Bulma immediately phoned Chi Chi to tell her of the plan. She, of course, was ecstatic. It was all so perfect, she almost wanted to run out and give Vegeta a big kiss. Whoa, where the hell did that come from? She giggled as she hung up the phone. Rrriiight. She could just imagine Vegeta's face if she did something like kiss him; total disgust. Maybe she would do it after all. She giggled again, and then headed upstairs to prepare for the 'major shopping trip' that was actually a sleep over at Chi Chi's. She would have to keep the plan from Goku though. He was just too innocent when it came to things like these. She started singing a song, actually in a cheerful mood as she packed for that night and the next day, then letting out a low, wicked laugh at the thought of Yamcha knocking on her door and Vegeta answering it. She knew for a fact that Yamcha was scared to death of the Saiyan Prince. She lugged her suitcase down the stairs and threw it in her trunk, then walked over to the Gravity Simulator. She tapped lightly on the door, and the machine turned off. She waited a few moments, rocking back and forth on her heels. Then she jumped as the door was roughly yanked open. Vegeta leaned out, his chest bare and streaming sweat. Kami, that man could work up heat in no time. She smiled.

"I'm leaving now."

"All right."

"Um... I left you some dinners you could heat up. The instructions are fairly simple."

"What are you implying, woman?" he asked, suddenly irritated. Bulma smiled more.

"That I care whether or not you eat tonight. See you in the morning Vegeta, and thanks." She said, putting a towel on his shoulder and patting it down before she turned and left in her car. Vegeta stared after her, and then down at the white cloth on his shoulder.

"Pfaugh!" He slammed the door shut and turned the gravity up to 350 times normal Earth. He wanted to be a sight when the little baka arrived. He grinned evilly as he shot a blast around the room, dodging quickly. He might make the little Earthling wet his pants after all. The ass did deserve at least that. In five hours, it was already six O'clock. Vegeta reasoned that Yamcha would be coming about this time, and so he turned off the machine and went in the house to shower. It turned out to be correct, as he assumed. Just as he was coming down the stairs, with no shirt on, he heard the doorbell ring. Bulma had made the noise softer than before, because he had complained that it bothered his ears. He thought back to how often she'd tested it to make sure it was soft enough. He put on his most menacing scowl and glared as he opened the door. There was the 'ass' as Vegeta affectionately referred to him. He lifted an eyebrow at the now cringing human and crossed his arms.

"What do you want?" he asked in a hiss. Yamcha paled.

"I-Is B-B-Bulma around?" he stuttered under the Prince's heavy gaze. Vegeta sneered.

"The woman is not here. She is out shopping, or some other female nonsense." He growled. Yamcha immediately darkened.

"What?! I said I was going to come over tonight!" he said, looking over Vegeta's shoulder at the dark house. Vegeta reached out and lifted Yamcha by his collar, staring into the suddenly trembling human's eyes.

"You doubt my word? You?! You're nothing but a player, and worth just as much. I'm surprised that woman hasn't stayed just for the pleasure of watching me kill you." He said, narrowing his eyes. Yamcha yelped as his grip tightened.

"No! Please don't kill me, Vegeta. I-I-"

"Shut up!" He shook the man. Yamcha fell into a frightened silence.

"Now listen. The woman doesn't want to see you, and I certainly don't either. Next time you get a craving to come over here, start thinking about what you want to put on your tombstone." He said, dropping the man to the ground. Yamcha stumbled to his feet and ran to his car, streaking off into the night. Vegeta smirked at the trail of dust, and then brushed his hands together as if clearing them of dirt. He shut the door with his foot, stretched, and went upstairs to his bed. 'The woman had better be quiet as a mouse for this,' he thought as he pulled the covers up over him.

Bulma woke that morning, feeling a little apprehension. She wondered if anything had happened last night. Did Yamcha really go over to her house, and did Vegeta really tell him off for her? All these questions and more swirled around in her head as she stepped into the shower, turning on the hot water and sighing. She would find out soon enough. In about an hour, she got out and dressed and did her hair and make-up. Then she repacked and dragged her suitcase down the stairs to throw it in her car, and then she went back into the kitchen to help Chi Chi with breakfast. She had two Saiyans to cook for, so she could use some. Eventually they had the table set and the Son family sat down to eat. Chi Chi looked up at her friend as Goku and Gohan started to dig in.

"Aren't you hungry Bulma?" she asked. The blue-haired woman nodded, and then rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm going home to make another breakfast. One at least as large as this, I'm afraid. It's the least I can do for him." Chi Chi huffed.

"Well, don't let him walk all over you just because he told a little lie for you. A favor for a favor, and you've already made yours."

"Haha! Don't worry Chi. I always make the meals there. I think we'd all starve if my mother and I didn't know how to cook," she said over her shoulder. "Thanks for letting me stay, Chi. Call you later."

"Any time hon." She called, waving. Goku mouthed a good-bye around his mouthful of food. Bulma chuckled as she started up her car and raced away for Capsule Corp. She was lucky to have such good friends. She turned off the car as she parked in the yard, and capsulated it after removing her suitcase. Vegeta appeared at the door, and wordlessly took her suitcase after watching her struggle with it for a few minutes. Bulma almost fell over she was so shocked. He went up the stairs, and then entered her room, with her following him, curiosity gnawing at her. He set the case on the bed, and then turned to her with arms crossed. She finally couldn't stand it anymore, and waved her hands.

"Well? What happened?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide. He smirked, and then laughed. She smiled, caught up in his mirth, feeling this was going to be good. She sat down on the bed and drew her legs to herself, waiting for the story. He finally stopped laughing and told her what had happened while she was gone. She listened, her eyes getting wider and wider, and when he told her of the parting ultimatum, she burst out laughing, clutching at her stomach and tears coming out of her tightly shut eyes. Vegeta watched, amused at her reaction, but still pleased. He got up to go train while she was making breakfast. She got control of her laughter and caught his arm at the doorway.

"Vegeta," she gasped, trying to get her breath. "Wait a minute." He turned, his look of indifference plastered on his face.

"What is it woman? I have training to do." He said flatly. She smiled, and then leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. It was surprisingly soft, she thought, and giggled at herself. She looked up into his startled eyes.

"Thanks Vegeta." She said, brushing past him and skipping her way down to the kitchen, humming a jumpy little tune. The Prince of Saiyans stood there in the hallway, shocked and stunned and a little worried at the same time. Then he slowly turned and made his way out of the house to the GR.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Please don't forget to review! If I get enough, I might just finish this! Don't worry; it won't stay cliché, promise!

Vegeta: You'd better finish this woman!

Singe: Oh, and why are you so interested in the continuation of this story?

Vegeta: Because it has me in it! And just look at how you've got me acting! I am not soft!!

Singe: Oh yeah you are. You just haven't gotten in touch with that side yet.

Vegeta: *Cringes *

Singe: Please review! You know you want to tell me how much you think it sucks!