Bulma awoke to sunlight flooding through her window. It blinded her, making sharp pains shoot through her temples. Pressing her hand to her head, she sat up and squeezed her eyes shut. Opening her eyes, she glanced around the room, thinking about the previous night's events.
I got really, really drunk... Mom and Dad tried to get me to stop... Bartender cut me off. Dad called... Vegeta? Yeah, Vegeta came in and grabbed me up... Now I wake up in my room? Bulma sighed and shook her head, as she tossed the covers off of herself. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood up. Her head became hazy, and she squeezed her eyes shut again.
I'm never drinking that much again. Ever! Bulma cursed herself for letting the break up with Yamcha have such a negative affect on her. It wasn't even really the fact that they broke up. It was more of the realization that she had wasted her time on someone who didn't care enough about her to stay faithful. That's what hurt her the most.
Walking into the bathroom, she opened the medicine cabinet mirror over her sink. Looking on the third shelf, she grabbed the bottle of asprin that she kept in the cabinet. Popping the lid off, she poured three little pills in her hand, and threw them in her mouth. Bending down, she turned on the faucet and drank some water to help her swallow the pills.
Turning off the water, she closed the cabinet and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup was slightly smudged under her eyes and her hair had lost all of its volume. Her curls fell in ringlets around her face. Not bothering to fix herself up, except to wipe the smudged makeup from underneath her eyes, she walked into the kitchen.
It was ten o'clock. There was a note on the fridge that immediately caught Bulma's attention. The paper was bright pink with electric blue writing. Which meant the work of her mother. Walking over to the fridge, she grabbed the note and began reading the neat cursive that her mother always wrote.
'Dearest Bulma,
Your father had an emergency call, and we left town for the rest of the week. We won't be back until next weekend, depending on how fast your father works. Don't worry about food, I made plenty and left it in the fridge. Or you can order take out, Dear. Whatever you want. Vegeta will take care of you while we're gone.
Much love, Honey.
Mom and Dad'
Bulma rolled her eyes at the last sentence. She put the note on the counter and began digging around in the kitchen cabinet for the pancake mix. Grabbing her favorite non-stick pan, she turned the stove top on and turned away. Walking a few steps away, she opened another cabinet and grabbed a mixing bowl. Then she dug through the pantry and grabbed a bag of chocolate chips.
Bulma set about mixing the pancake batter, then added the chocolate chips in. Even with her back turned, she could feel a presence enter the room. She knew that Vegeta had come in from wherever he had been. She figured that he had been training, much against her wishes. But he never listened to her.
"Sorry about last night... I usually don't do that." Bulma said quietly as she cooked. Vegeta said nothing. "Thanks for bringing me home."
"The back of your leg has a bad bruise." Vegeta said, his voice harsh in tone.
"What?" Bulma didn't look at him.
"When I put you on your bed, I could see it. Your dress was short." Vegeta replied. Bulma turned around to face him.
"So?" Bulma shrugged her shoulder. "What does it matter?"
"It doesn't." Vegeta said casually. Bulma turned back around and flipped the pancake. Once she had a good couple of stacks, she turned the stove off. Grabbing up the plates, Bulma walked over to the kitchen table and set them down. She slid one over to Vegeta and sat at the table.
"It's just us. For a week." Bulma said quietly, grabbing her own plate.
"I saw." Vegeta grumbled between bites of his pancakes.
"Then you saw my mother's completely crazy admiration for you." Bulma teased. Vegeta looked up at her, giving a smirk. He said nothing, only continued eating. Taking a bite of her pancake, she savored the warm chocolate chips. She was just about to take another bite, when Vegeta jumped up, knocking his chair over backward.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Vegeta growled lowly, turning away and stalking off quickly toward the living room.
"What the... Vegeta! What..." Bulma jumped up and ran after him, wondering what had made him act that way. Upon entering the living room, she saw Vegeta fling the front door open, and there stood Yamcha. His face contorted into shock when he saw Vegeta standing in the doorway.
"I came to-" Before Yamcha could finish his sentence, Vegeta snatched the bouquet of flowers from his hand, and threw them across the room. Flower petals flew everywhere. Yamcha gaped at Vegeta, then his face changed into anger. "Hey, man! What's your prob-"
Before Bulma could step in and try to say anything, Vegeta had Yamcha against the wall, his hand curled tightly around the boy's throat. Yamcha was trying to get away, but Vegeta had him lifted off of the ground. Yamcha's eyes darted over to Bulma and she could only see fear. She jumped forward.
"Vegeta!" She went to grab his arm, but he whipped his head toward her. Something in his eyes stopped her. Rage.
"Woman, don't." Vegeta said through gritted teeth. Bulma stayed close to him, but didn't make another attempt to stop whatever it was that Vegeta was planning on doing. Yamcha was trying to pry Vegeta's fingers loose from around his throat, but to no avail.
"You listen to me." Vegeta was looking at Yamcha, a scowl on his face. "Do not ever touch her again, do you understand? I will end you." With that, Vegeta let go of Yamcha, tossing him onto the floor. The Saiyan brushed past Bulma, who said nothing. Looking down at Yamcha, she suddenly realized how truly pathetic he was.
"Bulma, he, he tried to...kill me!" Yamcha gasped, touching his throat. "You, you told him?"
"You need to leave." Bulma said sternly, walking over to the door and holding it open.
"But we need to talk! I-I came here, to-"
"Now." Bulma said calmly.
"Bulma, please.." Yamcha stood up, looking at her with sad eyes.
"There's nothing to talk about. Just go." Bulma said, her voice growing agitated.
"It's really over this time, then." Yamcha glared at her. "Just tell me, Bulma. No games. Are we done?"
"Yes. We're done. Over. NOW GO!" Bulma shrieked, pushing him. Yamcha stepped back, and walked through the door way.
"I'm really sorry." He said quietly.
"I'm not." Bulma whispered, and she shut the door.
That night, Bulma was walking down the hallway from her lab. Walking into the living room, she sat down on the couch and turned the t.v. on. She was flipping through channels, when a shadow loomed over her. Vegeta had entered the room, silently as always.
"I'm hungry." He said simply.
"Mind if I order pizza? I just...don't feel like cooking." Bulma looked up at him with tired eyes.
"I don't care what you do, as long as I get food." Vegeta snipped. Bulma smiled lightly, grabbing up her phone. She dialed the number to the nearest pizza joint, and ordered enough pizza to feed the Saiyan. Once she hung the phone up, she looked at Vegeta. "You know... Nevermind."
"What?" Vegeta glared at her, waiting for her to speak again.
"You won't." Bulma shook her head, not looking at him.
"I won't what?" Vegeta asked, but his voice was more curious than harsh.
"I was just gonna say, you could sit in here with me and watch t.v. until the pizza gets here. We can eat in here instead of the kitchen." Bulma said quietly. But there was something different in her voice and Vegeta noticed it.
"Why?" Vegeta asked.
"Because... It's stupid, really." Bulma half laughed, still not looking at him.
"Why?" Vegeta asked, moving to stand in front of her, forcing her to look up at him.
"Because I don't wanna be alone, okay! I just... I don't wanna be by myself, Vegeta. So can you please just keep me company?" Her eyes were sad and tired, on the verge of tears.
"Fine." Vegeta huffed. He plopped down on the far end of the couch.
"Really?" Bulma perked up a bit. She smiled and settled into her corner of the couch. She curled her legs up onto the couch, and Vegeta noticed how small her feet were. Her little toes were painted a deep purple, and something shiny caught his eye. She had a ring on her toe?
"Woman, what is that?" Vegeta nodded at her foot. She looked down at her own feet, trying to figure out what he was asking. She saw the ring and looked back up at him.
"The ring?" She asked. He nodded. "Well...it's a toe ring. More for fashion, really. But I just really like it. I wear them during the summer sometimes."
"Basically it's pointless." Vegeta said with a smirk.
"I guess." Bulma giggled. " I guess it kind of is." The doorbell interrupted her from saying anything further. Standing from her spot on the couch, she grabbed her wallet and walked to the front door. Opening the door, there was a young guy standing there. He had the pizzas stacked up on the welcome mat.
"165.42." The guy said, his tone annoyed. Bulma gave him the money, adding in enough to make a nice tip. The guy hovered at the door, looking Bulma up and down. "Need some help bringing these inside?"
"No thanks." Bulma shook her head.
"Oh, come on. Young lady like you don't need to be carrying all these in by herself. You are one hott little-"
"She doesn't need help." Vegeta was at Bulma's side in an instant, his voice a growling threat. She looked up at him with thankful eyes. The guy took one look at Vegeta, and decided he wanted none of it. He walked away quickly to his car. Vegeta carried in all of the pizzas, and set the boxes down on the kitchen table. Bulma grabbed three and they walked into the living room.
"Oh! I love this movie!" Bulma's eyes lit up when she saw the screen. She sat back down on the couch, grabbed a slice of pizza, and began eating. Vegeta sat down on the other end of the couch, doing the same.
By the time she had finished one slice of pizza, Vegeta had finished a box and a half. He sat quietly through the movie, annoyed and puzzled by it. They had finished their dinner, and Bulma had managed to scoot a little closer to Vegeta, thinking he hadn't noticed. But he had.
"What did we just watch? Why are you crying, Woman?" Vegeta looked at Bulma as if she were crazy. She huffed out a laugh, wiping her eyes.
"It's called 'Beauty and the Beast'. And I'm crying because it was sad, but sweet." Bulma explained.
"What was the point?" Vegeta asked, sounding annoyed.
"You don't get it, do you?" Bulma asked, but her voice was soft. "See, he was so hurt and enraged. He was cursed for being an arrogant jerk. Then she came along, and she fell in love with him, even though he thought no one ever would because of what he was. He was a monster in the eyes of everyone else. But to her... He was more."
Vegeta said nothing, just stared at her. She was so beautiful, he couldn't deny that. No matter how much they fussed and argued, no matter how much she got under his skin or pissed him off, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. He watched as she flipped through the channels again. She stopped at another channel, and her face changed.
"Good show." She mumbled, setting the remote down.
"It isn't gonna be like 'Beauty and the Beast', is it?" Vegeta complained. Bulma giggled.
"No, this is called 'Goosebumps'. It's a show, not a movie. It's supposed to be kind of scary. Interesting stories." Bulma said, scooting a little closer to him. She looked at him. "Can I lay down?" Vegeta started to get up, but Bulma grabbed his hand. "You don't have to get up."
He looked down at her, and those eyes. Curse you, Woman. Vegeta sat back down, and watched as she grabbed one of the couch pillows. Laying it against his leg, she layed her head on the pillow. Vegeta felt every ounce of him tense up against her contact. He wasn't used to this, and he didn't like it. But yet... He couldn't move away.
He positioned his arm on the arm rest, and his other arm stretched out across the back of the couch. He sat there, Bulma laying across the couch, her head on the pillow rested against his leg. The two watched t.v. for what seemed like an eternity. Before long, Vegeta knew Bulma was fast asleep. Her breathing had changed, and he could feel her body rising and falling slowly as her Ki bounced around through his body. He could always feel her, and that distracted him.
Vegeta wasn't sure what to do, how to go about getting himself to bed. He surely wasn't going to stay on the couch all night. Easing himself up, he supported her head gently, so she didn't drop against the couch. Making sure the pillow was secure, he slid his hand away from her head. Looking around, he grabbed the throw blanket from the overstuffed chair in the corner.
Looking back at the woman, he felt some sense of worry. This wasn't him. This wasn't him at all. This isn't you, Vegeta. Why bother with her? She isn't anything, just another pathetic earthling. Remember that, remember your goals. Super Saiyan. She will only stand in the way. Make you weak... So beautiful, so dangerous. He spread the blanket out over her body.
If her hair was black, she'd look just like a female Saiyan. Her hair isn't in that ridiculous afro, and those wild curls... Just like a Saiyan. Vegeta chuckled darkly at the thought. She definitely had the spirit, that was for sure. Shaking his head, trying to shake the thoughts away, he walked to his bedroom, and shut the door behind him.
Lying down on the bed, Vegeta tried to meditate himself into sleep. His thoughts swirled around in his head and he couldn't concentrate on anything. Two things kept him awake. The fact that he had yet to become a super Saiyan, and he yearned for it. And the blue haired woman he lived with. Something about her had caught his attention.
But he would never admit any of the things that crossed his mind. She wasn't for him. She was an earthling, not the royalty that he needed. I will never find a mate. Any choice I would have had was blown away along with my planet. This is not my home. She is not my kind. Vegeta made his mind agree that the decision was final. He would begin training hardcore in the morning.
He had healed enough. Far too much, perhaps.
So sorry for the long update wait ! I have been on sort of a mini vacation, and unfortunately I didn't have internet access, which sucked. But I did get time to relax and write so it was nice ! I am so loving this story and how cute they are. I love writing Vegeta, especially his internal battles with his feelings. I just wanna squeeze him. He's so preshhhh... He would murder me if he saw this... I'm gonna stop now...
Anywayyyy... READERS/REVIEWERS/FOLLOWERS/FAVORITERS are FRICKIN AWESOME ! You guys keep me inspired and I am so happy to see you're enjoying the story ! Much thanks to all.
~Kaila G.
