I think Steve is a great guy (and I would pretty much kill anyone to get a guy like him,) but wayyy too boring for this story. So he's still involved, but I'm not describing their dates, because who on earth would ever find that entertaining? I know I wouldn't want to read that, so why would I force you guys to? If you like Steve, great job. I sure don't. Hah! Anyway.

I'm aware of the death threats and the many hits put out on me right now. Someone actually walked in on my final exam and put a gun to my head, saying a reader had waited long enough for an update. I'M SORRY! But I really DID have finals, and I really DID have to study so I wouldn't fail Math. Next semester, I have Home Ec, English, Science, and Technology education (like metalwork and woodwork and stuff.) So I'm totally looking forward to that.

My love life is still pathetic as usual (the guy of my dreams doesn't like me back- you know what, I won't go into it. You probably don't care.) , so I'm going to channel my pent up rage into this chapter. Also, for some reason, my stomach is swelling. Good thing it's not bikini season. Well, maybe in Mexico. But I live in Canada.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, it's not THAT cold here. I'm not actually typing this in an igloo, like some people think. And I don't talk funny! God, I'm losing it. But I DO like pancakes and bacon (then again, who doesn't? MMMM... bacon...)

Anay-hoozle. I just got back from work, and I have a beautiful four day weekend. So perhaps another chapter will come up soon...? I'm not making any promises, but... I hope I have time to write two.

CRAP! Just read the chapter! It's freaking past midnight!

"I'm going on another date!" Three days later, Steve had called and asked her out to dinner. She happily agreed, glad to get out of the house for a while. "I'll be back in a few hours!"

On date number two, Bulma found out Steve wanted to get married, have kids, and own a house. The reason he broke off his engagement a few years back was because his fiancee was moving to Australia for work and he couldn't leave the force or his students, both of whom needed him. They had ended on good terms. He paid for his mother to be in a nursing home in Europe, because that's where she wanted to be but still needed assistance to live. He had received a scholarship to law school at Harvard but decided he liked action better after graduating and wanted to be involved with the law in a different way.

All in all, a perfect man. She even kissed him good-bye!

When she returned, Vegeta was sitting by himself in the kitchen. It was an odd sight.

"What are you doing, Veggie? Aren't you usually training right now?" She asked.

"How is that your business?" He countered.

"I don't know, just making conversation. I went on another date."

"Hm. I hope you didn't snore when you fell asleep."

"I did not fall asleep!" Much, she added silently. "Steve showed me a wonderful time. He took me out for dinner and paid and walked me to the door and kissed me goodnight. He's the nicest gentleman I know!"

He snorted.

"Whatever, Vegeta. You're just jealous because you don't know how to treat a lady."

He slammed a hand down on the table. "Don't ever accuse me of being jealous of that pathetic waste of space, woman. And how do you know if he knows how to treat a lady? You've only ever seen him on dates with you."

"Oh, very clever, 'Geta. I'm crying on the inside because of your witty comebacks."

The corner of his mouth lifted. "You have a spot of drool on your shirt."

What?! She so did not drool! She quickly checked herself over once, and then twice. The only time she might have dozed off was the drive home, and... she looked herself over a third time. There was nothing there.

"You are a real son of a bitch, Vegeta."

"At least I know you really did fall asleep. What a real charmer that human must be."

"Just shut up, please. You still haven't told me why you're in here and not in the Gravity Room," she reminded him, trying to change the subject.

It worked; he grunted. "I have been training for months, woman," he told her. "Months! I'm now training at almost four hundred times earth's gravity, day and night, pushing myself... and I'm still not a Super Saiyan."

She cocked her head. "You thought you could reach Super Saiyan by... by training?"

"Why, what's your great idea? Did you come up with another invention?" His tone was mocking, but she could see genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"No. But... I have a theory." She paused for dramatic effect.

"I don't have all night, woman. Spit it out."

Alright, cancel the dramatic pause."Goku-"

"Never mind. If it includes that idiot Kakarott in any way, forget I asked." He stood up to leave.

"No!" She objected. "Just listen. Everyone knows he's a Super Saiyan. And why? He wanted to become one for those he cared about, not for his own benefit."

His jaw dropped, and he was speechless. For the first time in his life, Vegeta didn't utter a word- just stared at her.

"I don't think it's something that happens when you reach a certain power level. You become one when there's nothing left for you to give, but you need something more- need it, to save the ones you love."

There was a long moment of silence. "Th-that's completely ridiculous," he stammered, finally breaking the pause. "Our entire race of warriors did everything we could to stop those kinds of emotions from surfacing, because it interfered with our training. There's no way it could have been the key all along. It's not possible!"

"Well, your way isn't working. So you better start opening yourself to new ideas, or you'll never ascend."

He didn't reply, only stood up so quickly that his chair stumbled over backwards. He paced a few steps, then ran a hand through his black hair. "Is that your secret, Kakarott?" He suddenly yelled to the sky. "Love?" He spat the word, as if it was something foul spewing from his mouth.

She picked at a hangnail. "I don't know for sure... but it needs to be something big. It can't be out of spite or hate towards someone that you want to become a Super Saiyan. Not because you want to be stronger than someone you don't like."

He continued pacing, looking deep in thought. Bulma's mind wandered, pondering how long her and Steve would last. Would it be so terrible for her live with him? He'd be great to her. They'd make cute kids. He was smart, in shape, and compassionate. Her perfect guy...

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as Vegeta leaned in toward her. At first, she thought he was inspecting something on her face, then she thought he was going to hurt her. But when his face moved closer and closer, she realized he was trying to... kiss her?

"Get off me!" She shrieked, slapping at the hand that had cupped one side of her face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

How come she put that stupid thought in his head? Now he was trying to 'love' her, just to become a Super Saiyan.

"What's wrong with you, Bulma?" Vegeta demanded, surprised. He sat back down, looking at her like he actually didn't get it.

"I'm not your play toy!" She exclaimed, hurt at the fact someone with so much pride would do something like that to her. "I'm not just something you use until you get what you want and then throw me away!"

"Do you want to be saved from the androids or not, woman?"

"Not like this!" To her horror, tears were pricking at her eyes. She begged Kami that Vegeta would not see her cry- especially because of something he did. "Not by having you fake-love me just to become a Super Saiyan! Just so you can prove yourself to Goku!"

"Are you that selfish? To protect your precious little heart, you'd give up the chance to save your stupid planet?" Now he was getting angry. At her! What nerve.

"The feelings have to be real, Vegeta!" She yelled. "You can't pretend to love me. You would have to actually want to save me. To care about my fate. To want to protect me at all costs, because there'd be no point to life without me. That's what love is." The tears fell over her cheeks, much to her dismay. "You can't force love," she added almost indistinctly.

He rested an elbow on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I don't understand these emotions!" He yelled. "I want to become a Super Saiyan, and to do that, you say I need to love someone. What do you expect me to do?"

"Find someone who you love and who loves you back. Someone you'd give up everything for. It doesn't need to be romantic love, either! You just need to have a heart," she was crying now. Runny nose and all. She was humiliated beyond belief; she was nothing more than an object to him. Like the Gravity Room, or the training bots, or the fridge.

He looked back up at her, his expression incredulous. "Who would want to love me? I don't even like anyone here! What other options are there for me- your idiotic mother? Kakarott? They're the only ones who don't mind my company, and you're the only one whose company I don't mind." His face was angry and expectant and confused, but in the end, he was just looking at Bulma helplessly.

"Well, I guess you'll never become a Super Saiyan then, Vegeta," she whispered, sniffling. "Because I could never love you."

He looked at her, his eyes furious and perplexed. "You're probably wrong with your theory anyway," he scoffed. "It's a good thing, actually, because I don't think I could ever force myself to l-"

"Get out, Vegeta!" She screamed. "Leave. I really don't want to talk to you anymore." She hid her face with her hideous hair.

"You won't tell me what to do-"

She shook her head; more tears fell down her red face. "Please," she murmured, her voice breaking. "I'm begging you. Please, just leave."

His fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed, but he turned around and walked outside to the Gravity Room.

..Z..

After showering and realizing that it had been absolutely stupid to cry in front of Vegeta, she decided to get him back. He probably thought he had this big influence on her emotions now, or something. Well, not for long. No one humiliates Bulma Briefs.

She rummaged through her stationary and found a pen and paper, coming up with something that sounded just right. The genius scribbled down her message with a flourish, and didn't bother to sign it. Who else would it be from? Bulma gave it to one of the robots to deliver through the slot in the GR, and went downstairs to make a huge vat of oatmeal.

His stomach may have been immune to all foods, but that didn't mean she couldn't dump it on him.

While the slop cooked, she did some really boring sciency-stuff that calculated exactly when he'd come in and the angle she'd have to hang the bucket of porridge at, then she grabbed some supplies from the garage and made her way upstairs.

After she had set up the contraption of ropes and pulleys- one by the door and the window, because with Vegeta, you never really knew which entrance he'd use- she decided to take a quick nap. It was only midnight- she had a while before she had arranged for him to show up!

*MEANWHILE, IN THE GRAVITY CHAMBER...*

He kicked the training bot as hard as he could. How dare that stupid idiot of a a woman turn down his invitation! Back on his planet, she'd have been thrown in prison or banished from society by now. He tried to let it go- who would ever discover the horrific events that had occurred earlier?- but he couldn't shake the feeling. Suddenly, a piece of paper slipped through a small slit in the door.

Vegeta-

I'm sorry about before. I've reconsidered.

Meet me in my room at two a.m.; Don't keep me waiting.

Vegeta smirked as he read the note the woman wrote him. Knowing her, she was probably just setting him up for a useless 'prank', or whatever the weaklings called it to humiliate him even further. Perhaps she thought he'd freshen up before meeting her, and put hair dye in his shampoo. Maybe a bucket of paint or oatmeal or creamed corn hung from above a doorway. He even believed she could have set up a camera and wanted to record her rejecting him again to use as blackmail.

The last one may have actually worked, seeing as how he thought she was a servant of the household for the first few weeks he resided there, but who would she show? It's not like he cared what her useless friends thought. So he disintegrated the piece of paper in his hand, and at 2 o'clock, phased so quickly into her room that by the time he'd opened and closed the window the pulley system he'd discovered never had the chance to work.

She was sleeping. A lump underneath the blanket that slowly moved up and down proved what he'd already suspected when he sensed her ki level fall even lower than usual. Grinning like a mad man, Vegeta sat stiffly on the bed beside her with his eyes wide open. He'd be staring at her, completely clean of that slop, and it would show her just how superior he really was when she awoke from her slumber.

..Z..

"Bulma? Vegeta?" Bulma heard a somewhat familiar voice ask. "What the hell..."

She tried to roll over, but felt herself being pinned down by something that felt like a metal bar. Slowly opening her eyes and adjusting to the light filtering through her curtains, she blinked and saw Steve standing beside her bed. With oatmeal almost completely covering him.

"Oh... hi. What did you say about Vegeta?" She yawned, barely noticing what was going on.

"You tell me."

Bulma blinked slowly again and she slowly turned her head...

Only to come face-to-face with Vegeta's neck.

She screamed, jolting the Siayan prince from his sleep.

Vegeta looked at Bulma. Bulma looked at Vegeta. Bulma looked at Steve. Steve looked at Vegeta. Vegeta took his arm off Bulma. Vegeta looked at Steve. Steve looked at Bulma. Bulma-

Okay. You get the point.

"Anyone want to explain to me what's going on?" The police officer asked, wiping oatmeal off his face.

Bulma groggily tried to remember how she'd gotten there. She had gotten mad at Vegeta... she made a contraption... she sent him a note...

And then she fell asleep! Well, Steve wouldn't have to know that. She could still get Vegeta back for making her feel like a total idiot the evening before.

"I just went to bed last night," Bulma told him innocently. "I don't know how he got here."

Vegeta laughed. "You asked me to meet you in here yesterday. Or have you forgotten? Usually it wouldn't surprise me, seeing as how you're a complete idiot, but really. It has only been six hours."

"Um..." She glanced at Steve's expectant face. "I just wanted to ask how his gravity- er, his entertainment room was going. I must have fallen asleep before he got here. But I don't know why he wouldn't have just left when he saw I wasn't awake." She looked at the Saiyan sitting up beside her.

He narrowed his eyes at Bulma. "I don't need to explain myself to anyone. I am the prince-"

"Oh, shut up. It's getting old."

"Don't you tell me-"

"WHY AM I COVERED IN OATMEAL?!" Steve finally yelled.

Vegeta raised a brow. "How are we supposed to know? We were sleeping."

"There was a giant vat of oatmeal hanging over her-" he stabbed a finger at Bulma- "door. Who does that?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Vegeta sneered.

"It was a science experiment!" Yeah. That was really the best she could come up with. "With uh, angles, and y'know, gravity... it's a physics thing. You guys probably wouldn't understand."

"No," Vegeta conceded, "We probably don't. But what I do understand is that you were trying to cover me with that disgusting substance just to humiliate me further."

"Further?" Bulma let out a short, hard laugh in disbelief. "Are you kidding? You were the one who practically told me I was nothing but another 'object' to help you become a Super Saiyan."

"Super Saiyan? What's that?" Steve asked.

"Well, imagine my thoughts when my invitation to someone like you was declined!" Vegeta bellowed, completely ignoring him. "Every sane creature throughout the galaxy would give up anything for that kind of opportunity, and you treated it as if it alone wasn't good enough for you!"

Bulma snorted. "You idiot. It isn't good enough for me. You think I just want you for your body, or something? Or so I can brag to my friends about it? I've never been a 'casual sex' kind of a girl, and I certainly am not going to become one just for your bruised ego!" She cried.

"So... you guys are just going to hang out in bed, then?"

"Well, what the hell is love? Everyone refers to that as 'making love' around here, so won't it-"

"You're such an idiot! Making love to and plain old 'doing' someone are two totally different things! When you run into someone you had a one night stand with you don't say 'Oh, yeah. Remember we made passionate love together a few months back?'."

"I guess I should just wash this oatmeal off..."

"What makes you think you know what love is? You even admitted you never loved that fool, Yamcha. Who else have you been with?"

"I do so know what love is!"

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Because I have loved someone."

"Oh, yeah?" Vegeta smirked. "And just who would that be?"

Bulma narrowed her eyes at the Saiyan prince, jumped out of bed, grabbed Steve (oatmeal and all) and pulled his lips down to meet hers.

Woot! Veggie's gonna be SOOOO jealous next chappie! I'm super excited to write it. Give me suggestions for what you want to see him do! You all make me laugh, so I'm you can tell me some funny situations for them to be in.

Sorry it's so short. But I needed to end it there!

And yes, Bulma said THE line. Vegeta will, too. Don't worry your pretty little heads. But Vegeta will say it much later, when Bulma finally admits it to him... argh! I don't wana give away the story! Damn. But at least you have one little spoiler for some later chapters.

Haw haw. Poor lil' Steve! He was ignored for a while, and he's probably not gonna live to see his next birthday with Vegeta's reaction. REVIEW!

And don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile :)