Chapter Three

Bulma got out of the car and capsuled it. She shouldered her bag and started walking to the picnic site with a very peeved Vegeta trailing behind her. He was still irritated about her comment about being scared. "Let him be irritated. It's his fault," she thought. She set her things down and started to talk to Chichi. Vegeta left her side and went to go mediate in a tree.

"Wow," Chichi said. "You got him to come."

Bulma looked behind her, seeing the Saiyan Prince by himself—as usual. She turned back to Chichi. "All I did was say that Goku wanted him to come."

"Well, whatever you did, Goku sure is going to be happy," Chichi said while she set up the table with food.

"Where is Goku?" Bulma asked her.

"Oh, he, Gohan, and the others went in the water. They should be back soon," Chichi said absently with her back turned to Bulma.

"Oh," Bulma said. "I guess I'll go for a swim too."

Bulma went back to her bag, taking her jeans and shirt off along the way. She wore a royal blue two piece. She like how it matched with her hair, and it showed just enough. She grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her, and made her way down to the surf. Most of the guys were fooling around in the water, the exception being Piccolo: he stood off to the side watching everyone with his arms crossed. "So much like Vegeta," she thought. Goku, Gohan, and Krillin were having a water fight, and Yamcha and Tien were wrestling. As soon as Bulma put down her towel, everyone stopped to stare. She heard a low whistle come from Yamcha and she ignored it.

"Hi, Bulma," Goku and Gohan said to her.

Krillin and Tien just gawked at her.

She got in and dove under the water, enjoying the feel of the cool water run past her body. She got up and everyone was as they were before. She swam a bit, enjoying the feeling of the sun and the water.

"Hey, Bulma," Goku said. "Did you get Vegeta to come?"

Bulma stood up. "Yeah, he's up in a tree being his usual anti-social self."

Goku grinned.

He was about to say something but was cut off when he heard Chichi yell, "Food's ready!"

"Food! Come on, Gohan. Let's go eat!" he said grabbing his son by the hand and dragging him out of the water.

Everyone followed except for Bulma and Yamcha. Bulma did not want to see the guys as they ate; it could get quite disgusting. The only exceptions were Piccolo and Vegeta: she had never seen Piccolo eat, and Vegeta always ate like royalty, very clean.

She felt the water move around her as Yamcha made his way over to her. "Hey, baby," he said, putting his arms around her waist.

Bulma pulled away in disgust. "It's over, Yamcha," she said making her way to the shore. Maybe she should go watch them eat.

Yamcha grabbed her by the hand. "Oh, come on, baby. You're the only one I love. Those other girls are nothing."

Bulma turned to look at him, a seductive smile on her face. She walked to him, pressing her body against his. "You want this?" she said.

Yamcha smiled and placed his arms around her again. He nodded.

"Well," she said placing a finger on his lips. "You—can't—have—this," she said pushing him. Then she turned on her heel and walked off, leaving a gaping Yamcha staring after her.

"Oh, that was very Saiyan-like, woman," she heard a voice say to her as she wrapped herself in her towel.

She turned to see Vegeta hovering over her. "Shouldn't you be eating?" she said, walking towards the picnic site.

He smirked, setting his feet on the ground and following her. "And not watch you two face-off? I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"Baka," she said.

They made their way to the table and Bulma grabbed two plates, one for her and one for Vegeta. She served him his food and he went off to eat. She grabbed her own and sat down next to Chichi who was eating her own food and watching her husband and son, making sure they had enough.

"Do you always serve him, Bulma?" Chichi asked her, not taking her eyes off her men.

Bulma stopped with her hashi midway to her mouth. "Who?" she asked.

"Vegeta."

Bulma sputtered on her food. "What? No."

"Sure looks like it," Chichi said looking at her.

"Why do you say that?" Bulma said, grabbing her napkin to wipe her mouth.

"There was no arguing, no food was thrown. He just took it from you and went to eat. It looks like you guys do it all the time."

"No, of course not. I just . . . ."

Chichi smiled at Bulma secretively. "Is there something going on between you two?" she asked in a whisper.

Bulma's mouth gaped open and she heard Vegeta sputter on his food all the way across the site. Chichi looked up sharply in his direction and smiled that same smile. "Ah, so there is."

"What? No way! I'd never get with that baka," she said to Chichi under her breath.

Chichi looked over at Vegeta who had composed himself enough to eat. She whistled to herself. "I don't think Vegeta feels the same way," she said to Bulma. Vegeta looked up at her and gave her a deathly glare. She ignored him, knowing he wouldn't try anything because if he did, Goku would have to kill him, and that would disgrace his royal highness. "He's been staring at you all day, you know."

Bulma laughed. "Ha, yeah, right. His Royal Pain in the Ass was staring at me, little ol' me. That's funny."

"How do explain him walking up with you from the beach? He certainly didn't go down there for a swim with you, and he didn't go after you went," Chichi said.

"Well, he just wanted to see the fireworks between Yamcha and-" Bulma stopped. Chichi was right. Vegeta must have been watching her.

Chichi smiled. "See."

Bulma turned to look at Vegeta, but he was gone. Where did he go? She looked down at her food and ate the rest in silence. No, Vegeta couldn't possibly like her. He was an arrogant bastard who cared for nothing but himself. He proved it to her countless times already when they fought. But she couldn't convince herself of this. He also saved her many times from herself too, like when she would blow things up in her lab; he was always there to save her. And she could not explain why when she had almost fallen off the roof he had been there to catch her. She was getting confused.

"Hey," Chichi interrupting her thoughts. "Why are you so quiet?"

Bulma smiled weakly at her. "Just thinking."

"Bulma, I didn't mean to upset you about Vegeta. I really thought something was going on between you two and you just didn't tell me." Chichi put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Bulma looked at her. "Oh, it's okay. I just never noticed. Thanks for telling me." Bulma got up from the blanket. "I better be going. I have some things I gotta do at the lab tonight. Thanks for inviting us- um, I mean, me."

Chichi just smiled at her friend and said, "I understand. Jaa ne."

Bulma made her way over to her stuff. She packed it up and glanced around for a trace of the Saiyan Prince. He was no where to be found, and she was sure this time he would not pop up in her air car. She sighed and uncapsuled her car. "Time to go home."

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Bulma sat in her lab with her latest invention spread out before her. She couldn't concentrate. Vegeta was on her mind, and no matter how hard she tried she could not get him out. She threw up her hands and sighed. It was no use. She got up from the chair and made her was over to her parent's house on the other side of the compound.

"Bulma, honey!" her mother gushed. "It's been such a long time! Where have you been?" She gave her daughter a big hug and started to fuss over her, commenting on how thin she was.

Bulma smiled at her ditsy mother and said, "Mom, I just saw you yesterday."

Her mother stopped and looked at her. "Oh, yeah. That's right."

Bulma sat in the kitchen and placed her head on the table. Her mother bustled around, putting something together for Bulma to eat. She put out a tray full of pastries before her daughter and a cup of tea. "Eat," she said, sitting across from her daughter and grabbing a pastry herself. After a while she said, "So how is Vegeta?"

"Fine," Bulma said mechanically, her face still on the table.

"Oh, he's so handsome. If I weren't married, why I would . . . ." Mrs. Briefs giggled.

Bulma looked up at her quizzically. "Mom . . . ."

"Oh, I'm sorry honey." She sipped at her tea. "You know what, dear? I think it would be a fabulous idea if you two went out on a date."

Bulma stood up fast, her chair falling to the ground. "What?!"

"Well, dear, you two live together already, and you'd make such a wonderful couple, don't you think?"

"Mom, he doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself. All we ever do is argue and he has never even expressed an interest in me."

"Oh, Bulma," Mrs. Briefs said getting up and putting her empty cup in the sink. "I remember when you two were living here; why, he couldn't take his eyes off of you! Didn't you notice?"

"Mother!" Bulma said turning red.

"Well, he was. I'm only telling you the truth. You should ask him out on a date, Bulma."

Bulma smirked to herself and crossed her arms. "Go out with that baka? No way."

Mrs. Briefs looked at her daughter really hard and then said, "You're even beginning to look like him, dear!"

"What?!"

"Just look at yourself: arms crossed with a smirk. Tell me you don't look like him," Mrs. Briefs said, holding up a mirror to her daughter.

Bulma looked at her image and saw . . . Vegeta! "Oh, Kami! I do look like him!" she thought to herself, her hands shooting up to her face. She ran out of the house towards her own.

"I'll see you later, dear," Mrs. Briefs called after her, forgetting everything that just happened between her and Bulma.