When Vegeta casually strolled into the kitchen one morning, with a rare smile on his face, it was hard not to notice.
"Good morning, Vegeta!" Bunny brightly greeted him, handing him his usual morning cup of coffee. "You seem in a good mood today?"
"Hn."
The prince's smile quickly vanished, but he couldn't quite keep the look of content off his face as he took the cup from her. Without returning her greeting, Vegeta sat down at the table where Bunny had already laid out a breakfast feast for him. One of the reasons why he tolerated Bulma's mother was because of things like this. She was perhaps the only one on the planet who treated him like the royalty he was.
He was about halfway through his breakfast when Bulma slowly walked in, carrying Trunks on her hip. Limped in, was perhaps a better way of describing it. The heiress was wincing as she slowly put Trunks in his high chair, when her mother noticed her discomfort.
"Oh dear, are you alright?" Bunny asked worriedly, completely missing the wicked smirk on Vegeta's face as he raised his cup of coffee behind her. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"No, not exactly," Bulma answered, shooting the prince in the kitchen a malicious glare. "Just sore from working out, that's all. It'll pass."
"Oh, I have the perfect medicine you could take that will make you feel good as new!" Bunny happily informed her daughter. "I'll go get it."
Bulma strapped Trunks in while Bunny went to do just that, and the only sound in the kitchen was Trunks spelling out the letters that wrote out "Capsule Corp" on Bulma's tank top. Vegeta picked up a piece of toast and started crunching on it, and the sound was maddeningly loud to Bulma. He could usually finish his toast in about two bites, but today, he was taking small bites as he crunched away.
She lasted all of ten seconds before she spun around to face him and angrily demanded, "Will you stop that already!"
"Stop what?" Vegeta innocently asked. "I am just eating the breakfast your mother prepared…besides, I thought you were never speaking to me again," he mockingly added.
"I hate you."
"You love me one day, you hate me the next." He snorted in amusement and added under his breath, "Working out. Hn. That's one way to put it."
Vegeta reached for another piece of toast, when it was snatched away before he could grab it. He scowled at Bulma as she handed it over to Trunks, who immediately started devouring it. Bulma then put her hands on the table and leaned forward, staring Vegeta right in the eye.
"Krillin's wedding is tomorrow, and I know that you know that, you jackass. How am I supposed to go when I can barely walk? What am I supposed to tell them?" Bulma demanded, trying hard not to start yelling at him. It was difficult when he was wearing that smug, arrogant, and infuriating look on his face.
"The truth. They'll understand," Vegeta nonchalantly answered, trying hard to sound indifferent. But the amusement was dancing in his eyes as he continued, "Besides. This isn't my fault."
"What do you mean this isn't your fault!" Bulma yelled, forgetting for the moment that she didn't want her parents to overhear.
"It isn't. You made a challenge, and I responded. Don't blame me if you were too weak to handle it."
"I didn't-!" Bulma started to yell, before lowering her voice, "I didn't ask you to go Super Saiyan-"
"Hn," Vegeta grunted, picking up his utensils and looking back down at his breakfast. He shrugged, but the smirk was creeping up on his face and he couldn't stop it. "I don't know what you were expecting, woman. I believe your exact words were: Is that all you've got? Well, little female, looks like you got your answer."
"Vegeta, you have to give a girl a little warning before you increase your strength and speed twenty times over-!"
"Fifty times over," he smugly corrected. "And need I remind you that you weren't complaining last night?"
Bulma struggled to keep her place in this argument, but he was right. Last night was hands down their best night together in the sheets. The sex was raw and animalistic, with a degree of intensity that only Vegeta could provide with his Super Saiyan transformation. But that didn't mean she wanted to waddle into her friend's wedding tomorrow, fielding questions on what was wrong with her.
"What am I supposed to tell them tomorrow at the wedding?" Bulma finally repeated in defeat, slowly sitting down next to him to get something to eat as well. She pulled over Trunks' high chair to feed him while Vegeta shrugged.
"You had Super Saiyan sex. They'll understand, and perhaps the other females will even be envious. Which is perfectly understandable."
"Yes, let me go brag about my sex life during my friend's wedding, that would be really classy, Vegeta. I wonder how long I would last before 18 killed me?" Bulma asked, rolling her eyes while she gave Trunks a bowl with scrambled eggs. The little boy glared at the bowl, before pointing to the pancakes that Vegeta was eating. "Ugh, you're just like your father," she grumbled.
"Hn. Scarface will protect you," Vegeta bitterly sneered. "You know he would die for the opportunity to be a knight in shining armor…literally."
"Maybe you should come with me so you could protect me then?"
"Are you kidding?" the prince snorted. He frowned as Bulma removed some pancakes and toast from his plate to give to Trunks. "I wouldn't save you. After all, I would love to see Baldy's face if his toaster slaughtered one of his friends. That would be priceless."
"Are you seriously not going to come to Krillin's wedding?" Bulma genuinely asked as they made eye contact.
"Woman, we have discussed this already. I'm not going, and you won't change my mind."
"Well, you should at least think about it. They invited the entire family, you know."
"Your entire family," Vegeta corrected.
"Which includes you now."
Vegeta said nothing to that, letting his gaze linger on the woman next to him as she turned to feed his son. Thinking of himself as a loner was still deeply ingrained in him, and it would take more than some peaceful months to change that mentality. Hell, part of him still half-expected Bulma to wake up one morning, realize just who she was sharing a bed with, and then kick him out for good.
He looked away when her parents walked back in, going back to eating his breakfast. Before he knew it, Bunny and Dr. Briefs had joined them in their meal. Vegeta was silent as they all talked about Krillin's wedding. Who was going to wear what, what gifts they were going to buy, on and on and on. He wasn't the one getting married, and he was already sick of hearing about it.
Finally, he had enough, and he stood up to leave. Before he could make his escape though, Bulma caught his arm.
"Hey, before you go, I just got this text message from Yamcha-" Vegeta went to walk away again, when Bulma's grip tightened on his arm, "Would you wait for me to finish please? My goodness, you're so impatient." He glared at her as she continued, "He says they're throwing a bachelor's party tonight for Krillin, and you can come if you want."
It must be some type of plot to kill me, Vegeta thought, his suspicions instantly rising. He pulled his arm free.
"I know you are not suggesting I actually attend, right?" he asked, eyeing Bulma carefully. The woman was insane, but she couldn't think he would actually lower himself to such a degree, could she?
"Why not? Do you even know what a bachelor party is?"
"It has the word party in it. That is all I need to know."
"Oh come on, go out, have some fun! I think it'll be good for you."
"Good thing I don't care what you think," Vegeta sneered, before turning around and walking away.
Bulma rolled her eyes as he went out into the backyard. She needed another degree to deal with that man.
Hours later, Vegeta was in the only other place besides the gravity room where he could get some real privacy: the Capsule Corp swimming pool. It was open to the company, but whenever he decided to use it, everyone else quickly vacated. If Bulma's employees were scared of Vegeta before, they were downright terrified of him now after hearing what happened months ago with Richard at the restaurant. Unfortunately for them, the prince never made any attempts to ease their terror. If anything, he purposely made it worse. At least some people on the damn planet still feared for their lives whenever he was present.
He was doing his laps when he sensed Bulma coming over with Trunks. Vegeta continued on uninterrupted, taking a deep breath before diving under the water when Bulma came out into the pool area. He figured she would get the hint that he didn't want to deal with her right now.
It probably would've worked, if Bulma didn't adjust the temperature in the pool from cool to barely above freezing in under two seconds. Vegeta quickly broke the surface of the water, gasping from the sudden change in temperature as he leaned his forearms on the edge of the pool. He looked up and saw Bulma wearing a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Bitch," he grumbled, wiping the water off his face.
"Well I had to get your attention somehow. Now listen, I have to get some work done before the wedding tomorrow, and my mom is buying our gift, so I need you to watch the baby for about an hour."
Without waiting for Vegeta's response, Bulma lowered Trunks and sat the little boy down right in front of his father. The prince frowned in disgust when he saw the horrid swimming trunks his son was wearing.
"Woman, what the fuck have you put on my son now?" he angrily demanded, looking at the little smiling bears plastered all over the boy's swim gear.
"Aw, they're cute! Trunks likes Winnie the Pooh," Bulma happily informed him. Vegeta slowly blinked, at a rare loss for words. His son, the heir to his throne, wearing such garbage. It was beyond shameful.
Well, at least it's not pink, he reasoned bitterly. He growled when Trunks leaned towards him and grabbed a handful of his wet hair, quickly swatting the boy's hands away before he could yank.
"Baby, don't pull Daddy's hair," Bulma jokingly chastised, a teasing glint in her eyes. "After all, only Mommy's allowed to do that."
Vegeta gave her a dark glare, "We'll see just who is pulling whose hair tonight."
"That'll be no one. I need time to recover from last night. I'm pretty awesome, but I am human."
"Don't remind me."
"Anyways, I'll come get him in an hour. Oh, and here. You can put Trunks in this."
"What…?" Vegeta started, blinking at the yellow monstrosity that Bulma was holding, which he hadn't noticed until now. There was a large duck head at the end, smiling in a goofy way that reminded him of Kakarot. His lip twitched in disgust. That thing wasn't going to get anywhere near him or his son, not if he could help it. "Woman, I don't know what the hell that is, but if you bring it closer, I will blast it to bits."
"It's an inflatable duck baby seat! Isn't it adorable? My mom bought it for him a year ago, but he just recently grew into it. It's just until Trunks gets more comfortable and can learn how to swim-"
"See, this is why the boy barely knows how to do anything. You give him these absurd toys and gadgets that only handicap his development."
Vegeta was too busy brushing the wet hair out of his face to stop Bulma from whacking him hard on the head with the inflatable duck. His eyes widened in shock as Trunks laughed out loud.
"Trunks isn't even two years old, you jerk! Now just let him splash around in the duck, or if it disgusts you so much, why don't you do something instead of complaining and teach your son how to swim!"
Vegeta snatched the duck out of her hand, and threw it over his shoulder. It cleared the pool completely and landed against the opposite wall by the men's locker room. "There. Now leave the boy and get lost. Your voice is going to give me a damn headache."
"That's what I thought," Bulma knowingly said, already adjusting the water temperature so it was warm for Trunks. "I'll come get him in an hour."
"Hn."
Vegeta easily lifted himself out of the water, sitting next to Trunks as Bulma slowly walked away. The prince looked over his shoulder and snorted in amusement at how the woman was waddling. She looked like she was ninety years old. His attention was diverted back to his son when Trunks started climbing all over him. The little boy finally stood on Vegeta's thighs, grabbing onto his shoulders for balance.
"Now look here, boy," Vegeta started, roughly shoving Trunks off him to the side. Trunks landed sitting down and pouted as his father continued, "It's time you learn how to swim. After all, a warrior cannot survive for long if the easiest way to kill him is to throw him in the water. Of course, a natural defense mechanism is simply to fly out of the water, but you can't even do that yet. So swimming is an essential skill for your survival. Understand?"
"Swim, swim, swim," Trunks chanted happily as Vegeta got up to his feet. The prince scooped the boy up with one arm as Trunks pointed to his duck. "Duckie?"
"No."
"Duckie!" Trunks whined.
"I said no, brat. You have to learn how to swim without that stupid device. Now, it's quite simple. Just kick. That's all there is to it. Are you ready? I hope you are."
Without waiting for a response, Vegeta tossed Trunks into the deep end of the pool. The little boy immediately started to sink. Vegeta waited a second to see if he would start to swim, but when it was apparent that the boy was more likely to die than start to swim, he dove into the water.
A split second later, father and son emerged from the water. Trunks was clinging to Vegeta for dear life, his face bright red as he coughed and hacked away. Vegeta patted him on the back, cursing under his breath while he did. It was a good thing the boy hadn't fully developed his vocabulary and couldn't tell Bulma about this.
As soon as Trunks was finally able to breathe, he drew in a deep breath, and started bawling his eyes out. Vegeta sighed as Trunks buried his face into his chest. What he would give to just fast-forward time so his son could be older to properly train. He was just not equipped to deal with an infant child and was quickly at a loss on what to do. Until his gaze settled on the inflatable duck, that is.
Twenty minutes later, Trunks was happily floating in his inflatable duck, his earlier trauma already forgotten. Vegeta was doing his usual laps, every now and then sparing the boy a glance, but his mind was clouded with thoughts about marriage. It was tough to avoid thinking about it when that's all anyone was talking about these days, with Krillin's wedding being tomorrow and all.
It just boggled his mind that the small warrior was actually marrying the android. The same android that had killed all of them in the future and ruined Trunks' life. He didn't understand how Krillin could look past that any more than he understood Bulma's feelings for him. What if the android did get pissed at him? She could kill the stupid weakling. Not that he cared, he just didn't understand why Krillin was taking such a risk. He was almost tempted to show up to the wedding just to see if Krillin was actually going to go through with it. Almost.
He lost all track of time until Bunny came into the pool area. She had barely stepped foot into the pool area before Vegeta already had Trunks out of the pool, still in his inflatable duck. The prince lightly shoved the boy forward towards his grandmother. With Trunks out, he could finally increase the water density and drop the temperature again to get a decent workout.
"Gramma!" Trunks shouted happily, already going over to Bunny so she could pick him up.
"Hi Trunks! Did you have fun?"
"Yeah!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes, before demanding, "Where's Bulma?"
"She's doing some yoga to feel better tomorrow," she said, taking Trunks out of the duck and wrapping a towel around him.
Yoga? What the hell is that? Vegeta wondered, frowning in confusion. It sounded kind of violent. He didn't ask though, reaching over instead to adjust the pool settings.
"Don't be late for dinner, Vegeta!"
The prince didn't answer, going back under the water to finally resume his workout at his regular level.
About an hour later, Bulma was still trying to rid some of her soreness. It had gotten much worse since that morning, and no painkillers had helped. And as much as she wanted to curse Vegeta, last night had been worth it. All she could do now was try to make things better. Now she was in the bedroom she shared with him, trying her best to stretch out like the woman on the yoga instruction video. She had to try if she actually wanted to get out of bed tomorrow.
"There. Just like that," the polite instruction lady said, doing a demonstration of some insane twist of the body that didn't seem natural to Bulma at all. "See? That's not so hard, right?"
"Fuck you, in shape yoga lady," Bulma grumbled under her breath, unable to even lower her hands down to her mat. Her body was absolutely refusing to cooperate. She winced, and then widened her stance to get down easier.
Vegeta was walking in at that exact moment, when he stopped at the sight that welcomed him. Bulma was wearing indecent shorts and a sports bra, and he had a fantastic view of her from behind. His eyes scanned her over hungrily. Her body wasn't the reason he had entered this relationship with her, but it certainly didn't hurt things either. The prince crossed his arms, forgetting that he had only come in to shower for dinner. Instead, he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and watched the impromptu show he was getting while Bulma continued her exercises.
"Twenty-nine…thirty," Bulma said a few minutes later, sighing in relief when she released her current position, oblivious of the Saiyan behind her. She glanced up at the TV to continue following along. "Okay…shoulder-length apart…bend over to the side…"
She jumped in surprise when a strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind, before she was pulled back against a firm chest.
"You are failing miserably in your attempts to copy that woman on the television set," Vegeta whispered in her ear, amusement clear in his voice.
"It's your fault that I can't copy her exactly, you ass," Bulma told him, losing her breath a little when he started kissing her neck. "How long were you watching me?"
"Long enough," he answered, his breath hot on her skin.
"Vegeta, I can't…"
"The only way to get over the soreness is to keep practicing," he chuckled, using his free hand to explore her stomach. His fingers lightly ghosted over her exposed skin, and he smiled when she shuddered in his hold. "Don't worry, I won't transform this time."
"Vegeta," Bulma sighed, half in frustration and half in desire. "You reek of chlorine."
"Take a shower with me then," Vegeta countered, his voice husky with promised sex. Bulma could feel how aroused he was through his swimming trunks as he pressed himself against her, and her body was begging her mind to give in. Everything about him felt so damn good, from his hot skin against her back, to the rush of his breath when he spoke, to his wonderful hands.
When he simultaneously slipped one hand underneath her sports bra and his other hand down the front of her shorts, Bulma lost her resolve altogether. She could practically feel his smirk against her skin as she leaned her head back to grant him better access. Vegeta took her invitation, hungrily exploring her with his touch and his tongue.
They were both breathing heavily, the yoga instructor on the TV completely forgotten as Bulma whimpered in pleasure. He kept his breath right behind her ear, knowing from experience now that it gave her chills. Soon, he had her writhing in his hold. Being particularly impatient today, he quickly withdrew his hands, and before Bulma knew it, she was tossed on the bed. Vegeta joined her, immediately settling himself on top of her and between her legs.
He was going to remove her bra to free her fantastic breasts, when Bulma winced in pain.
"Wait, stop," she told him, putting her hands on his shoulders to push him away. Vegeta pulled up, slightly out of breath. "I can't."
"I'll make it fast so you don't miss dinner," he promised, thinking that was the reason she was turning him down. Without waiting for a response, he lowered himself on her again, but Bulma tried pushing him away again.
"Vegeta, I'm serious! I'm hurting all over. If we do this, I won't be able to walk at all tomorrow, and I can't miss Krillin's wedding. I can't do this with you, not tonight."
Vegeta closed his eyes. Bulma was expecting him to withdraw from her completely since she had just turned him down. Instead, he rested his head just under her chin, staying on top of her as he sighed in defeat. Bulma smiled a little, lightly running her fingers up and down his bare back. He wasn't inclined to move, and she wasn't inclined to make him move.
Finally after a few minutes of silence, she sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, sweetheart."
Vegeta opened his eyes in surprise. He was slightly caught off by the term of endearment that she hadn't called him before, but that didn't compare to her thinking she owed him something. Especially when it really was his fault that she was feeling so sore. Her sudden reversal in this stance made him feel guilty for the first time, and he had no idea why. He hadn't felt guilty earlier.
He raised his head and looked down at her. She smiled at him, and he would have probably given her whatever she asked of him in this moment. He frowned at his own train of thought, before withdrawing from her completely.
"You better," he gruffly answered, going over to retrieve a towel for a quick shower.
Bulma was slow to sit up, and by the time she did, the door was already closing behind him. She sighed, wanting to take a shower as well, but deciding not to make things worse on him by joining him. She did some light stretches, but she had only worked through three when Vegeta came out again. While she got ready to take a shower, he got dressed, which she didn't question until he dug in the closet to find his leather jacket.
"Where are you going?"
"Out," he responded, slipping his jacket on with his back to her.
"I see that," Bulma said, eyeing him up and down as he sat down on the bed to put his black boots on. "Well, how long are you going to be gone?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes as he tied up the laces on his boots. Once upon a time, he would have snapped at her that it was none of her damn business where he went or what he did. Which, it truthfully wasn't. But he remembered their conversation months ago about him up and leaving, so he answered.
"Not long. So be a good and obedient female, and keep my dinner hot."
"Oh, of course, Prince Vegeta. I'll make sure to keep your dinner hot…and poisoned," Bulma added, with a tone like she was actually serious.
Vegeta smirked as Bulma went into the bathroom to take her own shower, closing the door behind her. He shook his head as he finished tying up his boots. She was such a spitfire. But he loved it.
Finally, he stood up and walked out onto the balcony. He closed his eyes and focused, stretching out his senses to pick up the ki signatures he now knew well. Gohan's came up first, with Piccolo's coming up immediately afterwards. They were together. He focused a little more, and then the others came up. As he suspected, they were all together. Krillin and Yamcha in particular stood out, but they were with all the other misfits.
Vegeta sighed and cracked his neck. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but he was. His blue ki flared up around him, and then he took off in Krillin's direction.
"I can't believe you're actually getting MARRIED tomorrow!" a more-than-slightly buzzed Yamcha told Krillin.
"Yup," Krillin said, nodding with a hint of a smile as he closed his eyes. "I'm tying the knot. Krillin is officially off the market."
"Not that you were ever on the market," Roshi joked, coming up behind them and putting a large pitcher of beer on their table which was overflowing with food and drinks.
"Oh, come on," Krillin almost whined as everyone laughed. "I dated Maron…"
"That girl was dumb as rocks," Tien said, rolling all three eyes. "Yamcha told me that she was only good on the eyes."
Roshi adjusted his shades as he cackled, "It's true, she was!"
"Well, that's all in the past," Krillin said, waving his hand as though waving away the bad memories. "This time, I got me a good one."
"Are you sure about that?" a gruff voice demanded from behind him.
The music in the establishment might have kept playing, but the needle scratched off the record at the table as everyone turned to look at Vegeta. He rolled his eyes when they stared at him in shock and a little unease.
He had actually been there for about ten minutes, thoroughly scoping the place out. He didn't know what a bachelor party was, but it didn't take long to figure it out. There were some women dancing on a stage, and Vegeta had been briefly surprised to see how little clothing they were wearing. They all had great bodies, but he didn't pay them any attention. Their appeal was next to nothing in comparison to the woman he had, who brought more to the table than just a good figure. A hell of a lot more.
Vegeta sneered at the Earthlings, not even bothering to hide his disgust for them. That they hadn't noticed him was more proof to the Saiyan prince that they were all inferior warriors in comparison to him. He could have snuck up on them and killed them all, and no one would have been the wiser.
"Vegeta!" Krillin finally said, breaking the awkward silence. He smiled, "I didn't think you were gonna come. I'm glad you did-"
"Save the bullshit, Baldy," Vegeta angrily cut in. "You don't want me here, and I don't want to be here, so let's just make this fast. I want a word with you, outside. Now."
With that, the prince turned around and walked out. Everyone blinked in surprise, before Krillin chuckled nervously.
"I'll be right back," he awkwardly excused himself, before standing up and going after Vegeta.
"Come back alive!" Roshi yelled after him. "You don't wanna miss the beginnings of the rounds!"
Krillin stepped outside into the cool air, the music becoming muffled as soon as the door closed behind him. He stepped aside so others could go in, scanning for Vegeta. Finally, he saw him over on the side, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Krillin swallowed heavily, hoping that this wasn't bad. He had no idea why Vegeta would want to speak to him alone.
Man, I really hope I don't die before I get married, he nervously thought, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm. That would suck. A lot.
"So, what did you need, Vegeta?" Krillin asked as he came up to the prince.
Vegeta didn't even look at him as he answered, "I need a Senzu bean, tonight. You know where to get them, so get me one."
"Oh," Krillin said, blinking in surprise. He looked Vegeta up and down, before remarking, "You don't look like you need one-"
"If you want, I could put Scarface in critical condition, and then you'll be forced to get the damn things," Vegeta snarled threateningly.
Krillin chuckled as he raised his hands, waving them innocently, "No, no. Yajirobe is coming by but he hasn't left yet, so I'll just call him and ask him to bring some. I know he's got some. That sound good?"
"How long?"
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe thirty minutes?"
"Make it twenty."
"Alright…was that all you needed?"
It wasn't. His main purpose was to heal Bulma, not so he could get laid tonight (though that would be a plus), but mostly so she would be fine for tomorrow. He tried to tell himself that it was just so he wouldn't hear her bitching tomorrow, but it was a lie. It wasn't often that he was moved to do something that didn't benefit him directly, but this was one of those times.
Still. If healing Bulma was the main goal, he could have just taken her to Dende. No, Vegeta actually wanted to have a discussion with Krillin about the whole marriage thing on Earth and how it worked. Not that he was actually going to do it; he just wanted to know, just in case. And Krillin was the only one who could really answer those questions for him, aside from maybe Dr. Briefs. But he didn't want to get the old man's hopes up. Piccolo was as foreign to these ideas as him, and Gohan was just a boy. He hated everyone else, so he had no other options.
But now he was wondering if this was the best time, when Krillin was surrounded by all his idiot friends. One slip of the tongue, to Yamcha especially, and it wouldn't take long for Bulma to catch wind of his inquiries. And of everyone, he definitely didn't want to get her hopes up.
"Yes," he finally answered. "That's all."
"Alright," Krillin said, eyeing Vegeta carefully. He wasn't convinced, but he sure wasn't going to press the Saiyan on the issue. He wanted to live to get married, after all. "Well, do you want to come in and wait for Yajirobe? It's kinda cold out here."
"I'm fine here."
Krillin hesitated, tempted to take up Vegeta on his offer. But something inside him wouldn't let him, as he sighed.
"Vegeta, just come inside. We've got tons of food. Yamcha knows the owner, so drinks and food are all on the house. You don't have to talk to anyone, but just come in and get something to eat."
Vegeta didn't respond, but he was sorely tempted. He hadn't had dinner, and now that the little midget mentioned food, he was suddenly hungry. He subtly shifted his weight, contemplating just how hungry he actually was, when Krillin added, "I'll make sure no one bugs you so you can eat in peace."
Vegeta glanced back at Krillin, before finally nodding. "Twenty minutes," he growled.
"Twenty minutes," Krillin agreed with a nod, before turning and leading the way back inside.
It turned out to be less awkward than everyone expected. Vegeta was there, sitting next to Krillin, but he was completely focused on devouring everything in front of him. Everyone around him was engaged in conversation which he was easily tuning out. It didn't hurt any that the food was excellent. The only person feeling awkward was Tien. He kept his personal feelings to himself though, for Krillin's sake. But to him, Yajirobe couldn't come soon enough.
Vegeta finally started paying a little more attention to the Earthlings when Roshi announced that the drinking games were about to start. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The Earthlings were all at least a little bit intoxicated. He wondered how much more they could take.
Roshi suddenly turned to Vegeta and put his arm around the Saiyan's shoulders, much to the complete shock of Vegeta. Before he could wrap his mind around the fact that this fool had the audacity to touch him, Roshi excitedly asked him, "So, are you going to join in, Vegeta?"
Yamcha snorted and responded before Vegeta could, "Pfft! Please. He wouldn't last one fucking round."
Vegeta was about to rip Roshi's arm off when his head instantly snapped to Yamcha. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just say?" he snarled.
"Easy, everyone, let's just take it easy," Krillin chuckled, plucking Roshi's arm off Vegeta. "I told you guys, Vegeta's just waiting for Yajirobe to get here, that's all. He's not going to play."
"Whatever!" Yamcha yelled out, waving a hand at Vegeta dismissively. "He doesn't have the stomach to last. Make all the excuses you guys want, but he's a lightweight, and he knows it." Vegeta growled low in his throat, his face reddening. Tien and Krillin both exchanged an alarmed look when they felt the Saiyan's ki start to bristle with his anger, but Yamcha seemed oblivious as he continued, "So go ahead, Vegeta. Leave early. I know you can't take the heat-"
Krillin barely managed to grab Vegeta before the Saiyan lunged across the table at Yamcha. Reminding himself that his killing days were over, Vegeta reined his temper in and sat back down. He shoved Krillin's hands off him, before addressing Yamcha. "I don't know what juvenile drinking games you fools are talking about, but I can guarantee that I've had stronger drinks in space. If you want me to embarrass you in front of your friends, then I accept your challenge. Or are you not man enough to stand by your words?"
"You're on, Vegeta," Yamcha immediately said. He might not beat the Saiyan in a fight, but he could beat anyone in a drinking competition.
Vegeta slipped off his leather jacket and draped it over his chair, before he rotated his head to crack his neck. Krillin eyed him warily; the prince looked like he was preparing for battle. Then again, so did Yamcha and Tien, who were all getting ready.
Oh man, I hope all these guys actually make it tomorrow, or 18's gonna kill me, Krillin mused.
"GREAT!" Roshi cackled. "Alright boys! The rules are simple. Whoever can put down the most shots without getting sick, wins!"
Shots? Vegeta wondered, watching as a small glass was placed in front of him. He lifted it up curiously, and scoffed in disgust. The little glass could barely hold anything! He could put down 1,000 of these things, he arrogantly concluded, putting the glass back down and watching as it was filled.
"Knock em down!"
All five men chugged down their shots, and Vegeta had to force himself not to cough afterwards. He hadn't had a drink that strong in a long time. He watched as his shot glass was immediately filled up, before observing his competition. None of them seemed fazed, especially not Yamcha. Vegeta glared at him, more determined than ever to win this fucking thing. He raised his shot glass, ready for the next round.
"Not long. Yeah, right."
Bulma looked over at the time for the fifth time in less than fifteen minutes. Vegeta had been gone for over four hours, and so she figured he just wasn't coming back tonight. She sighed, curling up in bed with her novel she was reading. She would give him another ten minutes before she called it a night.
Just as she was about to do that, her cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. She reached over to grab it, and saw that it was a text message from Krillin. Her jaw literally dropped when she read the message, before she shook her head and got out of bed.
Meanwhile, Vegeta shook his head rapidly to stay focused. One look at Yamcha and he laughed out loud. His main competition was reeling. Yamcha looked like he was seconds away from passing out as he cradled his filled shot glass.
"Chug it! Chug it!" a crowd of strangers chanted, with Yajirobe in the lead. Such an epic drinking game had drawn in spectators, with all the males going for Yamcha and all the females going for Vegeta. The latter was mostly due to the fact that Vegeta had long since discarded his t-shirt, since the alcohol had made him start to sweat profusely once he passed fifteen shots. He hadn't meant to provide a show, but he had every woman fawning over his excellent physique.
"I can't," Yamcha mumbled, staring at his glass bleakly. He lowered his head to the table and groaned miserably, making Vegeta immediately leap up to his feet.
"YES. I AM THE VICTOR!" Vegeta screamed, almost falling backwards over his chair before Krillin steadied him. Everyone cheered as he yelled out, "I am the Prince of ALL Saiyans, and I am superior to every human in here and on this fucking planet! That includes YOU, and YOU, and YOU…" he said, pointing in Yajirobe's general direction. Vegeta squinted at him, before he slurred, "Waitamin, aren't you the worthless fuck that cut off my tail?"
"Well, look at the time! Gotta go, wedding and all tomorrow, byyyeeee!" Yajirobe yelled, exiting with lightning speed.
"Vegeta, why don't you sit down?" Krillin suggested, tugging the Saiyan's arm.
More of his friends had trickled in as the night went on, though Tien left after Vegeta started yelling at him that he was a disgusting pedophile for getting it on with a little white freak. The groom-to-be wasn't exactly sober, but compared to his friends, he was by far the most sober of them. Roshi had already gotten slapped hard four times by four different women, and it had taken an extraordinary effort on Krillin's part to keep Yamcha and Vegeta from getting into a fight while taking their shots. He needed reinforcements, and so he had called Bulma.
"Get your hands off me, Baldy! I don't know how you grease that toaster of yours so don't fucking touch me!" Vegeta yelled, shoving Krillin off him. The prince then leaned on the table as he laughed at Yamcha, "Not running your mouth anymore, are you, weakling? That's right! I took your life, and then I took your woman, and now I took your pride, because I am the Prince of…oh, shit," he moaned, swaying a little on his feet before Krillin grabbed him again.
"Here, sit down," Krillin said, leading Vegeta back to his seat where the Saiyan sat down heavily. "I'll get you some water-"
"Wait, wait," Vegeta said, putting his arm around Krillin's shoulders and holding the smaller man in place. Krillin blinked in surprise, looking extremely uncomfortable as Vegeta raised his other finger and slurred, "Look, I don't like you. I mean I REALLY don't like you, Baldy! But that's okay because I hate most people. So since I got a lack of options here, it's just you and me, you know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I think so," Krillin awkwardly answered, not really following.
"Good, you got a brain in there! Now… WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT!" Vegeta screamed at everyone who was still around them, raising his free hand which was glowing with ki. Krillin immediately reached over and forced Vegeta's hand back down.
"Little privacy, please," Krillin politely asked, before sighing in relief when everyone mostly dispersed.
Vegeta laughed out loud, "See? That's what I like about you. You got guts, Baldy, even though that's why you've gotten your ass kicked like, over nine thousand times."
Krillin's face flushed red as he defensively said, "It wasn't that many times-"
"But the marriage thing. See, I don't understand why you would do it. That bitch could kill you. Easily. She could do it in her sleep. She could probably just think about her killing you and then you'd die-"
"Yeah, I get it," Krillin grumbled.
"Why would you marry her then?"
"Because I love her. Why else?"
Vegeta groaned in disgust, removing his arm from around Krillin and freeing the smaller warrior. "Love," he snorted, waving a hand dismissively.
"Yeah…you don't know what love is, huh?" Krillin chuckled.
"Hn. Human emotion," Vegeta grumbled, blinking heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. "So what's the marriage thing like on Earth? Is it unbreakable?"
"Uh, not really. You could get a divorce if you really want to…" Krillin thought for a bit, before his brow furrowed and he asked, "Why, are you thinking about you know, asking Bulma?"
"No!" Vegeta defensively yelled. He sneered at Krillin in disgust, "No, I am not."
"Well, I think you should. Just so no one steals her away."
"No one will. The woman loves me."
"And you don't love her?"
Vegeta groaned again, officially reaching his limits with this conversation, drunk or not. "What time is it? Shit, I gotta go…WHERE THE FUCK IS MY SHIRT?"
Bulma finally walked into the place Krillin told her to go, and she instantly placed where Vegeta was. It wasn't hard to do, since he was in all his Super Saiyan glory and he stuck out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, it was late and almost everyone there thought his transformation was just a side effect of their own drinking.
"How the fuck am I supposed to put this shit on now," Vegeta muttered under his breath, staring at his shirt which was inside-out and laid out in front of him. It was spinning randomly in his mind, and he couldn't get it to stop. "Hn. It's fucking backwards…"
"It's alright, just put your jacket on."
The prince blinked and looked over his shoulder to see Bulma standing right behind him. "Shit," he said, reaching up to rub his eyes. "I said I wouldn't be long…"
"It's okay," Bulma calmly said, picking up his jacket and putting it over his shoulders. "Come on. Let's go home."
Between her and Krillin, they both helped Vegeta walk out and get into her hover jet. The prince immediately leaned against the door, already regretting letting Yamcha bait him. Oh, he was going to be hurting tomorrow. He could feel it.
Vegeta didn't notice when exactly Bulma stopped talking to Krillin and they started flying back to Capsule Corp. When he opened his eyes again, he had a clear view out the window. Bulma was taking a shortcut home (she loved Vegeta to death, but she did not want to deal with him throwing up in her hover jet), and she was flying over a dark patch of the city. Vegeta blinked a few times, having regained his bearings a little bit. His sight focused on the night sky, and he slowly turned to Bulma.
"Stop the jet."
"What?" Bulma asked, glancing over at him in surprise. She had thought he was passed out, so his rough voice had scared the hell out of her.
"Stop it. I wanna show you something, while I'm drunk enough to actually go through with it."
Bulma sighed, before deciding she would humor him. When she found a roof she could land on, she landed her jet and unlocked the door for him. Vegeta opened it and nearly fell right out, but he caught himself at the last second. Bulma got out too and came around, wrapping her own jacket tighter around her.
"What is it, Vegeta?" she asked, looking at him in exasperation. She had seen him buzzed a couple of times, but never this drunk. At this point, she wouldn't have been surprised if he dropped his jeans and flashed her.
"C'mere," he said, reaching his hand out for her, his other hand gripping onto the edge of her hover jet for balance.
Bulma hesitated, hoping he wouldn't actually try to fly or something. She took a deep breath, before giving him her hand. Vegeta pulled her over, holding her securely against him, her back to his chest. Bulma was about to object, thinking he wanted sex, when he pointed up over her shoulder with his free hand.
"Look. See the constellation there?" He tried his best to outline what he was looking at.
"Yeah. That's the Big Dipper."
"See where it ends, up top here?" He moved his finger up a little. "See that gap there?"
"Yes."
"That's where my planet would have been," Vegeta admitted. Bulma looked over her shoulder at him, but his eyes were glazed over as he lost himself in memories. "I always looked at the constellations, every planet I was ever on. And I would find where my home planet would've been. For some years after it was gone, I could still see its light. So even though I could never go back, I still had a piece of home, no matter where I was."
Bulma could practically feel him lose some strength when he continued after a moment of gathering his thoughts, "But then one day, the light was gone. I kept looking for it, on every new planet, but I couldn't find it anymore. With the light there, I could pretend that the planet was still there. That I wasn't alone. But without the light there…I lost everything, Bulma."
Bulma somehow managed to turn around in his hold to face him. With his guard completely down, Vegeta's eyes were clouded with so many emotions, she needed a lifetime to figure them all out.
"You're not alone anymore," she said, gently touching his face. "You have me and Trunks, no matter what. You won't ever lose us."
His response was as immediate as it was genuine, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Putting up with my bullshit."
"Oh…well yes, that does merit at least one thank you a day," Bulma laughed.
"I got you something," Vegeta mumbled, fumbling with the inside of his jacket. His vision was starting to swim, so he was trying to rush before he passed out and forgot to give her the very thing he'd gone looking for.
Bulma, however, was completely taking his actions in a different way. Her eyes were widening, and her heart was suddenly racing. He wasn't going to pull out a ring, was he? Oh God, he was! He was going to propose!
To her surprise and disappointment, though, instead of a ring, Vegeta pulled out a familiar Senzu bean.
"So you can walk normally tomorrow," the prince awkwardly said, not knowing why she looked so disappointed.
"Oh, well…thank you, Vegeta, that's very sweet of you," Bulma said, forcing a smile. It truly was a rare gesture on his part, and she didn't want to ruin it just because she got her hopes up over something else.
Vegeta was going to respond, when his stomach suddenly lurched and his visible world tilted. He managed to turn away from her as he dropped to his knees and threw up. Bulma instinctively flinched back, before sighing. Yes, definitely not the ending to her night that she was anticipating.
Looking over her shoulder at the stars, though, she figured this one was pretty damn good too.