Vegeta padded barefoot down the hall to his room in a clean pair of shorts with his sneakers in hand. After six hours in the gravity room, he decided to shower and take a break. Though he didn't deserve one after the way he disgraced himself earlier. He always found the woman's displays with her weakling disgusting, but today, it made him feel real rage. The same rage he felt the other night when she was prancing around the house shamelessly modeling a scant garment for her mother that she intended to wear on a so called date. It was equally disgraceful the way he put off his training to get rid of the woman's suitor, but at least no one was around to see that. He didn't know why those incidents inspired him to react the way he did or why he was having such a difficult time keeping the woman out of his head, but more importantly, he was disappointed in himself for not being able to stop it. He was behaving like a weakling, he needed to get himself under control. Fortunately for him, it seemed the woman had resolved to stay away from him and not make any more attempts at conversation with him. Good. He didn't need her distracting him. When he opened his room door and flipped on the light, he froze and his shoes dropped to the floor.

"Long night?" Bulma asked pleasantly, sitting on his desktop with her legs crossed.

Relief filled his chest that she was speaking to him again, and that her eyes were no longer darkened by sadness when she looked at him. The emotion struck him against his will. Being pissed off that she was in his room, however, was a conscious decision. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Because you think I'm gorgeous."

Vegeta snorted. "Surely there's medicine available on this mudball for your delusion."

She hopped off the desk and walked up to him. "Gohan told me what you said about me on Namek," she said slyly.

His eyes widened and a blush crept to his cheeks. "That little wretch!"

Bulma's lips parted in awe at his reaction. "Wow, you really did say it, huh?" She hadn't necessarily thought the boy was lying when, the day he and Chi Chi came over for lunch, he told her Vegeta said she was gorgeous on Namek, it just sounded so far-fetched she couldn't take him seriously. She was sure Vegeta would have sooner murdered her than given her a compliment back then on Namek. And as long as she'd known him, she'd never heard him give anyone a compliment. Ever.

Vegeta cursed himself inwardly for his slip up and grabbed her by the elbow, promptly deposited her outside of his room, and slammed the door in her face for good measure. "Damnit, she's annoying," he groused.

Bulma huffed and leaned her back against the door. "Well, I guess I'll go ahead and confirm that date I had lined up for tomorrow night then," she said loudly.

She fell backwards when the door flung open but was caught by Vegeta grabbing her arm again and spinning her around to face him.

"The hell you will, and you better have nothing lined up," he sneered down at her.

Bulma grinned. "Sike."

"You are really fucking annoying!" he roared.

"Is that any way to talk to your woman?" Her grin widened at the look on his face. "Yeah, that's right, I know you sabotaged my date. I've got it on tape. The jig is up, tough guy," she poked him in the chest, "I know you've got a heart in there."

He smacked her hand away and turned around, giving her his back. His face was burning in humiliation at having his weakness thrown in his face. He hated weakness more than anything, especially the kind she made him feel. It was the most dangerous kind because it was the most tempting to succumb to. Because it made him want to forget all his pain and anger, his pride, his shame and strife, and just be. With her. If he did that, he would have nothing. Those were the forces that kept him going all his life and enabled him to survive and keep getting stronger. He needed that fuel to achieve his goals and become who he was always meant to be. If he let this woman make him lose sight of that, he would have no purpose. His whole life would be rendered meaningless. He wished to go back to before he agreed to that blasted bet; before he knew how intoxicating kissing her was, before he couldn't stand the thought of another man touching her, before his treacherous heart claimed her as his.

Bulma wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I love you, too, Vegeta. I think I always have," she said softly and nuzzled her face into his back. It seemed crazy to say, but it was true. Her brain had been slow on the uptake, but her heart knew all along.

Vegeta wanted to respond with a scathing insult but couldn't. Not with her talking to him like that and not with that warmth emanating from her. It wasn't the kind of warmth he could get from a sun; it was an arresting and inviting warmth that seeped into the depths of him. It was a warmth that made him realize he had even been cold. It was too much. He had to break the spell she cast over him and regain the upper hand. He had the perfect counteroffensive. Vegeta stepped out of her embrace and faced her. "Don't think I don't know why you're really here, woman."

Bulma blinked. "Huh?"

"There's only one reason you would be waiting for me in my room after dark," his eyes trailed down her body, "wearing something so easy for me to take off."

She looked down at her nightshirt with new eyes, suddenly feeling exposed.

Vegeta smirked and stepped towards her deliberately, licking his lips and looking every bit a predator intent on devouring her. Bulma gulped and automatically stepped back from him until the back of her legs hit his bed and she lost her balance and plopped on it, bringing her face to face with the bulge jutting out beneath his shorts. Her breath quickened as she watched him hook his thumbs around the waistband and pull them down, freeing his heavy erection. She was so taken aback at the size of what sprang out at her she found herself crawling backwards on the bed. 'Isn't he a little short to be packing this much heat?' she reasoned in disbelief. He got on the bed and grasped her ankles, pulling her back to him roughly.

"As if you could escape me," he purred in his deep, velvety timbre.

Bulma shivered. Escaping him was the last thing on her mind. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. He slid his hands up her thighs, taking hold of the hem of her nightshirt as he did so and she lifted up her arms so he could take it off. He slipped off her panties next and stared down at her naked form appreciatively, thinking Yamcha was an even bigger fool than he thought to gamble with something so delectable. Bulma blushed, feeling self-conscious. She'd never been looked at the way he was looking at her. He was taking in every detail on her and she knew nothing would escape his shrewd eyes. It made her feel even more naked and vulnerable.

He reached to feel the weight of her luscious breasts in his hands, caressing them briefly before traveling down the rest of her body. The sensation of his rugged hands on her soft skin sent more heat between her legs. She held her breath in anticipation when he spread them open and lowered his mouth to her throbbing center. His tongue lavished her expertly and her thighs clenched around his head tightly as she whimpered in pleasure. When her moans became urgent, he raised his head and stretched over her to capture her lips in his so she could taste herself. His warm, steely flesh grinding against her wetness as they kissed was too tantalizing to bear. "Vegeta," Bulma moaned and reached down between them to stroke him. The appendage felt overwhelming in her hand, she could only imagine how it would feel inside of her. She wanted it inside her so bad.

Vegeta raised himself up to watch as she guided his tip to her slick entrance. He started pushing himself in slowly then knocked the breath out of her when he submerged in her completely with one forceful push. Bulma gasped and clung to him, sinking her nails in his back as he inundated her body with deep, powerful thrusts that reached places that had never been touched. She felt like something inside her was unraveling as he drove into her faster and she didn't realize how loudly she was screaming his name in his ear. When he took her legs and put them on his shoulders his strokes became even deeper. Bulma gripped the sheets and threw her head back with her mouth frozen in a soundless scream. She could barely handle the pressure but she wanted more of it, even though it hurt. It hurt so good.

Her high pitched mewling and pained expressions as she encouraged him to indulge in the heaven between her thighs were speeding him towards his peak. He would have already spilled his seed in her if he wasn't so disciplined. Having this woman beneath him at his mercy was the most erotic thing he'd ever experienced. But he decided to have mercy on her and bring her legs down from his shoulders. He flipped her over onto her stomach and slid into her from behind. Bulma buried her moans in a pillow, feeling like she was close to coming. Vegeta grabbed a fistful of her hair, jerking her head back so he could ravage her mouth while he pumped in and out of walls faster and harder. She was too amazingly wet and tight to hold back his release much longer and soon her womb was spasming around him, greedily milking him of his cum.

Vegeta pulled out of her when the waves of his climax receded and rolled onto his back. Bulma also rolled onto her back, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She looked at Vegeta in wonder. He was like an animal. She'd never had her body handled so commandingly. He did whatever he wanted to it like every inch of her belonged to him. It was an incredible turn on. Vegeta felt himself stiffening again at the way she was looking at him. He reached for her neck to pull her head down to his lap and sighed in pleasure when Bulma took him into her mouth, sucking her juices off of him until he came down her throat. Before long he was hard again, and coming inside of her, again.


While Bulma lay in his bed feeling like a pile of noodles after they finished, Vegeta got up to put his shorts back on and sat on the edge of the bed to put on his sneakers. Bulma sat up. "Where are you going?" she asked.

His back tensed. "Did you think I was going to stay and cuddle with you like your weakling?" he said coldly. "I have to train. Nothing is more important than that." He finished tying his shoes and stood up. "Nothing," he emphasized with a pointed look at her.

Bulma huffed and turned her head to stick her nose up in the air with her eyes closed. "Who said I wanted you to stick around? Shoo, you're stinking up the place," she said waving her hand dismissively.

He seethed at her audacity. "Did you just shoo me, woman?" Bulma maintained her haughty pose and acted as if she didn't hear him. Vegeta grit his teeth. How dare she ignore him? He was no fly, she couldn't just shoo him away, and certainly not from his own room! But he just turned on his heel abruptly and headed for the door. He didn't have time to get into an argument with her. He'd wasted enough time with her, he had to train. "And you had better be gone by the time I get back," he threatened right before he shut the door.

When he was gone Bulma cracked an eye open and started giggling. After what she saw on the surveillance footage, nothing he said or did would faze her anymore. You don't just send someone's car into orbit over someone you don't care about. The knowledge that Vegeta actually had feelings for her made her feel giddy, like a teenage girl with a crush. Yamcha was right when he told her that, for now at least, Vegeta wasn't capable of romantic gestures to show he loved her. But what mattered was that he was capable of feeling love, and he felt it for her. Yamcha had been wrong about that. After learning about his tragic background, she could see why love was difficult for him. He'd probably never experienced it before or seen it up close, so he wouldn't know what to do with it. He needed someone to show him the ropes. She was officially taking up the job.

Bulma went to her room to take a leisurely bubble bath and then came back to Vegeta's room with some fresh bedding. They'd made quite a mess of the sheets. After she changed the bed she climbed in it just because she could. She imagined what it would be like to spend the night with Vegeta and wake up next to him. Contrary to what he apparently thought, she and Yamcha had rarely spent the night in the same bed. He said she was too wild of a sleeper. That was why they never shared a room while they were together. Bulma yawned. If Yamcha wouldn't go for it, there was no way Vegeta would. 'I'd better go before he catches me in here,' she thought sleepily. She didn't want to deal with one of his temper tantrums. Her eyelids got heavier and instead of getting up and going to her own bed like she fully intended to do, she snuggled deeper underneath the covers and fell asleep.

Vegeta almost shattered the door knob in his hand when opened his door at 1 am and saw her still in his room. "Did she not hear me say—" the rest of his sentence was cut off by an exasperated sigh. He was tired and ready to go to bed after another punishing training session followed by a hot shower in the gravity room. He stomped inside and shut the door loudly, uncaring of his volume. Maybe if he made enough noise it'd wake her up and she'd leave. Didn't happen. He turned the room light off and went to the bedside to switch on the lamp on the nightstand and grimace down at her. Her limbs were splayed towards the four corners of the bed and her mouth was hanging wide open rather unattractively. Thankfully, she wasn't snoring. He couldn't believe her nerve, hijacking his bed like this. But he noticed, not with disapproval, that she'd changed the sheets. It was the least she could do after being so goddamned annoying. He cut off the lamp and moved her arms and legs over, more gently than he should have, and climbed into bed next to her.

Almost immediately her arm flew out and smacked him in the face. He grabbed it and put it back at her side where he'd had it and while he was doing that her legs stretched out spread eagle, encroaching on his space again. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" he groaned after a few more rounds of warding off her sleep attacks, and he shifted to his side and pulled her tightly to his chest, enclosing his arms around her so she couldn't strike again. Bulma's body instantly relaxed and made no more attempts to flail around. He narrowed his eyes at her in the dark. If he didn't know better, he would say she was orchestrating the whole thing under the pretense of slumber. But he was positive the woman was in the midst of a deep sleep. The only reason he didn't wake her and kick her out was because he was in no mood to suffer her loud mouth. He would simply put up with her intrusion for tonight—but just for tonight. This wouldn't happen again.

He laid his head down behind hers and settled in. Her hair smelled like that fruit she was so fond of. Strawberries. He buried his nose in it, inhaling deeply and running his fingers through the silky blue tendrils. He only allowed himself this because she was asleep . . . and because he couldn't help himself. He despised his weakness, but at least this way she would never know, so she couldn't gloat about it and hold it over his head. He would rise well before her so she wouldn't wake up in his arms. She wouldn't know a thing. He was only holding her because it seemed to be the best way to get her to keep still. He had no intention of ever holding her like this again. And if anyone else tried to, he'd kill them. She was his to hold, or not to hold. He was too sleepy to rein in his possessive thoughts. Her soothing scent had a sedative like effect on him and he soon drifted off. For once, he did not lie awake being tormented by his past failures until he fell asleep, only to be tormented by his recurring nightmares. It was the most peaceful sleep he'd gotten in memory.

AN: The end! Okay, so I just went ahead and posted this without revising it so I'll correct any errors later. Anyway, I'm so glad my first ever attempt at a V/B fanfic is finally complete! And I'm glad I took a hiatus because this is way better than what I was originally going to do with it. I was originally inspired to write this because I had read sooo many 3 year V/B fanfics and none of them seemed quite right. Either Vegeta was always too OOC (saying mushy stuff he'd never say) or he was TOO unfeeling. The man has feelings! Come on, we all watched him pour them out in tears on Namek! Or often Bulma was OOC, either being too soft and crying all the time or trying to act too "strong" like she didn't care if she never got affection from Vegeta, she was just going to pine after him anyway and act like she didn't want/need affection, and never showed him any affection because that would make her look "weak" and he'd lose respect for her (?) And in the stories, somehow she and Vegeta would end up forging some unbreakable bond/falling in love through sex.

That's just silly.

The way to a man's heart is not through his loins. The way to a man's heart is through . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . HIS HEART! And Vegeta is not exempt from that. I believe he fell for Bulma because she genuinely, openly, and confidently showed she cared for him, and no one else in his life had. Whether it was through giving him a place to stay, making sure he took a shower after he got back to Capsule Corp. stinking to high heaven, asking if he had enough barbeque sauce on his chicken, staying by his bedside while he recovered from his injuries, etc. All these are acts of love to varying degrees and it got to him. Acting like you don't care about someone is the opposite of strong. Also, I don't believe Bulma would have got with Vegeta if she NEVER had any proof/reason to believe he cared for her. I think she saw little peeks of it while living with him . . . and I kind of just made some up lol.

By the way, for those of you that don't know, Vegeta did call Bulma gorgeous on the show in the Ocean Dub. He asked Gohan on Namek, "Who is that gorgeous girl?" in reference to Bulma. And that is, of course, the inspiration behind my pen name:) YouTube it if you haven't seen it, I recommend it haha.

THANK YOU so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed the lemon. I did tone it down compared to Hour of Need though, leaving out certain C, A, and F words and I like this style better. I should have written the ones in Hour of Need like that, I kind of got carried away with them lol. I'm thinking about going back and cleaning them up a bit. Probably shouldn't have told you that. Don't cut me, smut fiends.

Annnnnnnnd end of unnecessarily long author's note. Don't forget to leave a review! Bye-bye:)

AN Part 2:

I decided to expand on my already too long author's note to clear up a misconception about this story: this is not a V/B get together, nor is it truly a romance, though it is classified as such. I would say this is a more of a "How Trunks was conceived" story (yes, that lemon scene was Trunks' conception). If I were to write a bona fide V/B get together, it wouldn't take place until after the Cell saga. I think after Goku died and Vegeta had to watch his rival's son surpass him as well, he was demoralized and lost his sense of purpose, and Bulma was there for him during that time and they built a stronger bond and officially got together later. Well, we know because they got married sometime between Trunks being 1 and 8 years old.

It's important to view this fic STRICTLY in the context of canon (the animated series, have not read the manga) because I specifically wrote it so nothing would contradict with it and it could fit in seamlessly with it and I built from it. For anyone that might think the romance (if you could call it that) developed too quickly, I don't agree because, as I said, this story was written strictly within the context of the show. What I mean by that is, the romance had already been in development ON the show, I simply picked up the story at a certain point and continued with the development that already happened. The romance started developing from the moment Bulma invited Vegeta to stay with her. Bulma noticed him standing off by himself and thought to extend her hospitality to him (no one else did) and that is a sign of caring. And perhaps she was intrigued by him? Hmmm.

And when he took off in the spaceship to look for Goku, and while he was gone, she had a dream about them kissing (!) that was also a crucial moment for their "romance" development! I don't know about ya'll, but I only tend to dream about people that have been on my mind. I think she had him on the brain a lot during his absence (perhaps she was intrigued by him? Hmmm) and of course Yamcha didn't take too kindly to her dreaming about kissing another guy. That flashback scene in Ch. 1 about her dreaming about Vegeta is canon. And then I wrote Yamcha commenting about Bulma staying at Vegeta's beside while he was recovering from his gravity room accident (which, as we know, she really did) because it was strange that she would fret over Vegeta that way- another crucial moment! And, like Yamcha thought, it was kind of strange for her to do that for someone that wasn't him (her significant other) unless she had some interest in him! Again, very crucial moment. I certainly don't think she would have fallen asleep at any of the other Z fighter's bedsides, worried sick over them if they got hurt.

And remember how perplexed Vegeta was when he woke up and saw her? Also a crucial moment. And right after that, when he left his bed still injured to train in the gravity room, and Bulma came on the screen to chew him out for it, do you remember how hurt she looked when he yelled at her to leave him alone? Yep, another crucial moment. And all these crucial things happened before the point I begin my story and, for my story, it's important to keep those things in mind as you read it. That's why I say it's important to view this fic strictly within the context of the show. But if the show is not fresh in your mind, I suppose things may seem to happen too fast. The show is ALWAYS fresh in my mind haha. I'm mildly obsessed with B/V, that's why I'm typing this excessively long note to ya'll! I can blab on and on about their love. Anyway, I think at all these little crucial moments I mentioned, Vegeta was privately confused about it the whole time like, "Why can't this Earth woman just mind her business and leave me be!" and it began to affect him and caused him to start thinking of her more than he would have liked.

Anyway, as I said, this is not a get together or a real romance. This was Bulma, after caring about him and taking care of him from day one, realizing that actually she was in love with him and wanted to take care of him always, and that he needed her. For Vegeta, it was him realizing just how much of a liability she was and that he had to resist the things she made him feel because she was a distraction to his goals, and he associated those unfamiliar feelings with weakness. If I made the fic too romantic, it would contradict with the show. Like, okay, if things were so great and lovey dovey between them and they were "together" why didn't he save her and baby Trunks from falling (possibly to their deaths!) at the beginning of the android saga when Dr. Gero shot them out of the sky? And why would he have been such a dick to his own son, Future Trunks, at first? That don't add up. At that point, Vegeta just considered Bulma and baby Trunks distractions:/ When he showed off his Super Saiyan transformation for the first time when he first fought the androids, he said he went to train in space to escape the "distractions on Earth." Distractions = Bulma and Trunks.

Honestly though, even though I was thirsty for more B/V romance on the show, I like how they just showed little hints here and there and you largely had to read between the lines, so to speak. That is also how I wanted this fic to be. But if I were to continue this fic (which I highly, highly doubt I will) Vegeta would resolve to stay away from Bulma even more and maybe he'd end up in bed with her again sometimes, but not anything resembling a regular basis. I think Vegeta would be too focused and disciplined for that. Hour of Need AU Vegeta does not possess such self control lol. By the way, I'm just going to leave Hour of Need like it is, but I digress. Like I was saying, Vegeta would avoid Bulma more fiercely if I continued the fic and do/say things to hurt her feelings, and I think finding out about Bulma's pregnancy would have just compounded his frustrations (another blasted distraction he didn't ask for!) and things would have gone downhill from there. Whew! Okay, this author's note is about to become its own chapter so let me just end it here and spare those of you who have read this far haha. Thanks again for reading and for all the lovely reviews! Keep 'em coming;)