The first chapter was really just a little intro, so I thought I'd go ahead and get number 2 up. Thanks for reading! R&R if you please!

Disclaimer: Don't own these coo-coo kids!

II.

Ground Rules

Bulma glared at the pile of dirty laundry, carelessly heaped in the corner of her master bathroom. Gritting her teeth, she gathered the unsavory scented mass into her arms, carried it to the laundry room, and stuffed it into the washing machine with extreme prejudice. Her patience finally tested beyond its limits, she stormed outside and pounded on the door of the gravity room. "Hey, open up! We need to talk!"

The beautiful scientist had been avoiding this conversation for the better part of a week; despite how angry his disgusting living habits made her, she feared Vegeta's permanent departure from Earth, and knew she risked hastening the process by confronting him about it. However, she could not live with the uncertainty any longer. She needed to know exactly what his intentions were, especially if said intentions would be occurring under her roof.

The gravity room door shot open, and Bulma stood before a very sweaty and irritated Saiyan. "What do you want!?" he growled, hands balled into fists.

"What do I want?" The scientist threw her hands to her hips and narrowed her eyes. Sometimes she could not believe the Saiyan's nerve. "All I want, Vegeta, is to know what your deal is."

His eye twitched, noticeably. "My deal? What on Earth are you going on about, woman?" he demanded through gritted teeth.

"I mean, what are you doing!?" When she realized her house guest was still unclear as to her intentions for the direction of the conversation, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, allowing herself to calm down and re-present her inquiry. "Look," she began, "the deal was, you could stay here and train until you fought the androids. Obviously our situation is… a little less black and white than that." She cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, you can stay here as long as you want. I just need to know…if that is what you want." She finished and waited, staring expectantly at the alien.

Vegeta frowned. "Yes, fine," he stated flatly, crossing his arms.

Bulma blinked. "Wait, really?"

Rolling his eyes, the Saiyan gave an exasperated exhale. "Are your ears not working correctly? I said yes, I will stay. Is that a problem?" he snapped, the last phrase more threatening than inquisition.

"Erm, no, I just…I'm glad. For Trunks, I mean. I think it would be good for him to have you around," Bulma replied, un-phased by his ominous tone. The days of her fearing him were long behind them, and they both knew that.

"Are we finished here?" Vegeta stared expectantly at the heiress, jaw working.

Remembering the reason she had lost her temper in the first place, Bulma held up a finger and poked the Saiyan in the chest. "Oh, yeah! And stop using my bathroom!" She commanded.

This time it was the Saiyan who blinked, surprised by the rule. He swatted her finger away. "Why? That is the one you told me to use," he reminded her, annoyed.

Bulma's cheeks reddened as she recalled the exchange. "That was—before," she stammered. On-again-off-again relationships were challenging enough; she had plenty of experience with that when she and Yamcha were an item. However, with a hybrid baby and an alien completely unfamiliar with human dating norms thrown into the mix, her life was about to get a lot more complicated. Perhaps now, she thought, was a good time to begin a dialogue and set some ground rules. "Just because I'm letting you live here doesn't mean I'm letting you anywhere near my bedroom, and correspondingly bathroom, got it!? If I am remembering correctly, you were going to let me die in a helicopter crash. That does not merit any of this." She gestured to her shapely curves.

Cheeks tinting red, the Saiyan snarled. "Vulgar woman," he growled, in addition to other obscenities as he slammed the gravity room door.

Bulma sighed. "Yup," she muttered to herself, "this is going to get awkward."