Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the related characters. This is
fanfiction - no profit, no sue, please.
Part Two: Something Strange is Going On
Bulma slowly sat up in her bed. Her head hurt. Most of her body hurt, for that matter. Not surprising, considering the trauma it had gone through less than 24 hours ago. If it hadn't been for Vegeta...she shuddered slightly. Did drowning count as a natural death? Would they have been able to bring her back with the dragonballs? She was glad she hadn't had to find out. Slowly she got out of bed, found some socks, and padded downstairs. It was after noon, but his royal pain in the ass hadn't woken her up early demanding food like usual. Had he actually let her sleep in? If she didn't know better, she might have thought he was softening a little.
Then she saw the mess he'd left in the kitchen in the process of fixing his own breakfast. On second thought...
Bulma couldn't deal with the dish disaster yet. She located the pain relievers and the orange juice and retreated to the living room with them. Sitting on the couch and waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in, she contemplated yesterday's events. He'd saved her life, that was certain. He'd also blasted the tank, which set her back almost a month in her work. She was torn between wanting to thank him and wanting to yell at him. Eventually the thanking part won out. He really hadn't had to take such good care of her like he had. So how could she thank him? He'd sneer at her if she tried anything too overt. She'd pushed her luck last night, but it had seemed appropriate at the time. After all, it was the first time he'd really acted, in her opinion, remotely like a prince.
The humming of the gravity room gave her an idea. She knew damn well why he had been in her lab in the first place. Why not upgrade his GR while she waited for the parts to rebuild the regeneration tank? Smiling slightly she stumbled back upstairs and disappeared into the shower for a luxurious 45 minutes. Her skin required scrubbing, as it was still sticky with the healing fluid. Scowling as she scrubbed, she made a mental note to alter the composition so it slid off the skin once it hit the air.
The painkillers eventually began to take effect, much to her relief. Good thing, too, since after the shower she had to deal with the mess in the kitchen and in her lab. By the end of the day she was tired, dirty, and very hungry. It had taken her almost seven solid hours to get both messes cleaned, the majority of that time spent on the lab. Bulma stormed back into the main house and began to cook dinner. She wasn't an expert, but she could whip up decent potatoes and eggs. Plus it was easy to make a lot of, always an important factor when you had a saiyan to feed.
As if on cue a bruised and bloody Vegeta stalked into the kitchen. Observing Bulma hard at work, he smirked and leaned against the wall.
"About time you learned your place, woman,"
"If you want any of this, you'll shut your mouth right now." She didn't even bother to turn around. He snorted, but before things escalated she slid a steaming platter of food over to his side of the table. Not even Vegeta could forsake food for argument - he sat down and dug in. Unlike Goku, at least, he used a fork. Bulma smirked a little herself, hearing no complaints about the food. If he didn't complain with the first bite, she'd learned, he pretty much liked it. Of course, once he satisfied his first rush of hunger, he would -
"When is that empty headed mother of yours returning, woman? At least she can cook up a meal worthy of consumption."
"Five more days," she replied, ignoring the jab, and sat down with her own plate of food. Bulma found she was unaccountably hungry tonight. She went through several plates of food in rapid succession. As she was getting up to refill her plate for the fourth or fifth time (even with the huge amount she'd served Vegeta there was still at least as much left on the stove) she noticed the saiyan prince staring at her rather oddly. "What's the matter? Did you want some more?"
"Since when do you eat so much, woman?" he asked with almost (for him) curiosity. "Wouldn't want to spoil that girlish figure, would you?" he added mockingly.
"Are you calling me fat?" she demanded in a tone that would have sent Gohan and Krillin running for cover. Vegeta simply smirked at her. "I'm too hungry to argue with you," Bulma snapped when he didn't respond. She split the remainder of the food and passed him half before devouring hers at a pace that would have put Goku to shame. He continued to watch her silently, which annoyed her so much that the moment she finished she stormed upstairs without even a parting insult for the evening. Vegeta finished his own food in silence, a thoughtful look on his face. He'd never seen a full human eat quite that much in one sitting, let alone one like Bulma, who usually ate like a bird. Strange...he shrugged mentally. He needed to yell at her about upgrading the GR, not wonder about her eating habits!
Upstairs Bulma took her second shower of the day. She was fuming. How dare that arrogant tail-less bastard comment on how much she did or did not eat? Especially when he consumed at least his weight in food every day! She was damn near tempted not to upgrade the GR....but she did owe him rather big....
"Damn!" She smacked the wall of the shower. "Annoying creep!" Shampoo ran into her eyes, causing another round of cursing. Half blinded, she finished up and stepped out of the stall, fumbling for a towel. Because of this, she didn't notice the fine cracks in the tile where her hand had struck.
Bulma had just finished dressing when the aches that had plagued her in the morning suddenly returned with a vengeance. She swayed slightly on her feet and plopped down on the edge of her bed. Whimpering a little under her breath, she crawled under the blankets. Setting her alarm so she wouldn't oversleep, the blue haired beauty fell quickly into a deep slumber.
Vegeta was preparing to return to the GR for more training when his sensitive saiyan ears caught the sound of her whimper.
Should check to see if she's alright.
He blinked in surprise at the quiet whisper from somewhere in the back of his mind. He was the Saiyan Prince, not a babysitter for a stupid ugly earth woman!
Didn't think she was that ugly last night, did you?
Vegeta cursed his subconscious roundly and stormed out the door. He really needed to train!
Part Two: Something Strange is Going On
Bulma slowly sat up in her bed. Her head hurt. Most of her body hurt, for that matter. Not surprising, considering the trauma it had gone through less than 24 hours ago. If it hadn't been for Vegeta...she shuddered slightly. Did drowning count as a natural death? Would they have been able to bring her back with the dragonballs? She was glad she hadn't had to find out. Slowly she got out of bed, found some socks, and padded downstairs. It was after noon, but his royal pain in the ass hadn't woken her up early demanding food like usual. Had he actually let her sleep in? If she didn't know better, she might have thought he was softening a little.
Then she saw the mess he'd left in the kitchen in the process of fixing his own breakfast. On second thought...
Bulma couldn't deal with the dish disaster yet. She located the pain relievers and the orange juice and retreated to the living room with them. Sitting on the couch and waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in, she contemplated yesterday's events. He'd saved her life, that was certain. He'd also blasted the tank, which set her back almost a month in her work. She was torn between wanting to thank him and wanting to yell at him. Eventually the thanking part won out. He really hadn't had to take such good care of her like he had. So how could she thank him? He'd sneer at her if she tried anything too overt. She'd pushed her luck last night, but it had seemed appropriate at the time. After all, it was the first time he'd really acted, in her opinion, remotely like a prince.
The humming of the gravity room gave her an idea. She knew damn well why he had been in her lab in the first place. Why not upgrade his GR while she waited for the parts to rebuild the regeneration tank? Smiling slightly she stumbled back upstairs and disappeared into the shower for a luxurious 45 minutes. Her skin required scrubbing, as it was still sticky with the healing fluid. Scowling as she scrubbed, she made a mental note to alter the composition so it slid off the skin once it hit the air.
The painkillers eventually began to take effect, much to her relief. Good thing, too, since after the shower she had to deal with the mess in the kitchen and in her lab. By the end of the day she was tired, dirty, and very hungry. It had taken her almost seven solid hours to get both messes cleaned, the majority of that time spent on the lab. Bulma stormed back into the main house and began to cook dinner. She wasn't an expert, but she could whip up decent potatoes and eggs. Plus it was easy to make a lot of, always an important factor when you had a saiyan to feed.
As if on cue a bruised and bloody Vegeta stalked into the kitchen. Observing Bulma hard at work, he smirked and leaned against the wall.
"About time you learned your place, woman,"
"If you want any of this, you'll shut your mouth right now." She didn't even bother to turn around. He snorted, but before things escalated she slid a steaming platter of food over to his side of the table. Not even Vegeta could forsake food for argument - he sat down and dug in. Unlike Goku, at least, he used a fork. Bulma smirked a little herself, hearing no complaints about the food. If he didn't complain with the first bite, she'd learned, he pretty much liked it. Of course, once he satisfied his first rush of hunger, he would -
"When is that empty headed mother of yours returning, woman? At least she can cook up a meal worthy of consumption."
"Five more days," she replied, ignoring the jab, and sat down with her own plate of food. Bulma found she was unaccountably hungry tonight. She went through several plates of food in rapid succession. As she was getting up to refill her plate for the fourth or fifth time (even with the huge amount she'd served Vegeta there was still at least as much left on the stove) she noticed the saiyan prince staring at her rather oddly. "What's the matter? Did you want some more?"
"Since when do you eat so much, woman?" he asked with almost (for him) curiosity. "Wouldn't want to spoil that girlish figure, would you?" he added mockingly.
"Are you calling me fat?" she demanded in a tone that would have sent Gohan and Krillin running for cover. Vegeta simply smirked at her. "I'm too hungry to argue with you," Bulma snapped when he didn't respond. She split the remainder of the food and passed him half before devouring hers at a pace that would have put Goku to shame. He continued to watch her silently, which annoyed her so much that the moment she finished she stormed upstairs without even a parting insult for the evening. Vegeta finished his own food in silence, a thoughtful look on his face. He'd never seen a full human eat quite that much in one sitting, let alone one like Bulma, who usually ate like a bird. Strange...he shrugged mentally. He needed to yell at her about upgrading the GR, not wonder about her eating habits!
Upstairs Bulma took her second shower of the day. She was fuming. How dare that arrogant tail-less bastard comment on how much she did or did not eat? Especially when he consumed at least his weight in food every day! She was damn near tempted not to upgrade the GR....but she did owe him rather big....
"Damn!" She smacked the wall of the shower. "Annoying creep!" Shampoo ran into her eyes, causing another round of cursing. Half blinded, she finished up and stepped out of the stall, fumbling for a towel. Because of this, she didn't notice the fine cracks in the tile where her hand had struck.
Bulma had just finished dressing when the aches that had plagued her in the morning suddenly returned with a vengeance. She swayed slightly on her feet and plopped down on the edge of her bed. Whimpering a little under her breath, she crawled under the blankets. Setting her alarm so she wouldn't oversleep, the blue haired beauty fell quickly into a deep slumber.
Vegeta was preparing to return to the GR for more training when his sensitive saiyan ears caught the sound of her whimper.
Should check to see if she's alright.
He blinked in surprise at the quiet whisper from somewhere in the back of his mind. He was the Saiyan Prince, not a babysitter for a stupid ugly earth woman!
Didn't think she was that ugly last night, did you?
Vegeta cursed his subconscious roundly and stormed out the door. He really needed to train!