Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters.

Vegeta woke up the next morning to someone soothingly stroking him arm. When he opened his eyes he saw Bulma smiling back at him.

"Good morning," she said sweetly.

"Morning," he replied, surprised by the hoarseness of his voice.

"Feeling any better?" she asked, her voice full on concern. Vegeta just nodded slightly making her smile. She kissed his forehead and said, "Good. I was worried."

Vegeta pulled her closer to him and inhaled her scent. He couldn't remember a time he felt more relaxed than this.

"Do we have to get up?" Vegeta asked reluctantly.

Bulma giggled. "Of course, but not right now. It is Sunday after all," she responded. "But eventually Dr. Briefs will be wondering why I'm not up and he might come up here flipping out for me staying in, so fair warning."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. It was obvious that the guy was still going out of his way to make her feel unwelcome, but at least Mrs. Briefs cared about her. He realized that she let him stay over here in her daughter's room, no questions asked. Maybe she cared about him too, which was a little more difficult for him to grasp. She barely knew him.

A few minutes later, Bulma's prediction came true and Dr. Briefs' reaction was far from tame.

"What the hell is this?" he asked upon seeing Vegeta. "I came up to make sure you were getting up, but I'm guessing you can't. What, tired out from last night's 'activities?'"

Vegeta did not like the guy's attitude or his implication so he moved the blanket off of them to show that they were both fully clothed.

"Maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions," Vegeta said. "It must be embarrassing for a smart man such as yourself to be proven wrong."

Dr. Briefs was seeing red and was about to comment when Mrs. Briefs showed up.

"Oh, good, you're both awake," she said. "Vegeta, sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Good," she replied. "Bulma told me what happened and I just wanted to let you know that you're welcome to stay here, effective immediately."

Dr. Briefs looked over to his wife with an expression caught between anger, shock, and horror. He didn't like this boy's attitude any more than Bulma's and she was offering him a place to live.

"We need to talk," he told his wife.

Mrs. Briefs looked at him and replied, "No we don't. Vegeta is a very good boy and I want him to stay here. Besides, you should be thanking him. He's the one who got Bulma to open up more to me."

"Still, I don't want him here," Dr. Briefs argued.

"Well, you don't have much of a choice in the matter," Mrs. Briefs retorted. "I own fifty percent of everything including the company and this house, so I have the right to invite whoever I wish to stay and you need to get over it."

Vegeta and Bulma glanced over at Dr. Briefs who was attempting to reign in his temper.

"Fine, I don't care anymore! Let this delinquent live here!" Dr. Briefs snapped. "Just don't expect me to be welcoming!"

If anything, no one ever called Vegeta a delinquent and he was taken aback by it. He looked over to Bulma who was looking at him with a saddened and apologetic expression. Hugging her, he took her hand and kissed it lightly and whispered into her ear that it wasn't her fault and not to apologize.

Mrs. Briefs turned to the two teens. "I'm sorry about that and I can understand if you want to go back to your friend's house after this. My husband isn't the most understanding guy around." That left Vegeta to wonder why she was with him. As if hearing his unasked question, she continued. "He used to be a lot kinder, but I guess when he was told he couldn't provide me with children, he became snappier towards the younger generation. It has nothing to do with you two, though, and he shouldn't take anything out on you."

Vegeta looked at Bulma and he concluded that he would stay. She shouldn't have to deal with that jerk alone.

"I'll stay," Vegeta told them. Mrs. Briefs smiled and said she was going downstairs to work on breakfast.

Bulma's face lit up when he said he would stay. Vegeta couldn't help but blush when she smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said hugging him tighter. He responded with a nod.

The two of them got up and took turns getting ready. It was time for Vegeta to start his new life as an adult living with his friend whom he cared for deeply. Things were definitely looking up.

A/N: Sorry for taking a while to update. I had written this chapter (mostly) out, but I didn't really like it. I'm telling you, it was like ten times worse than this, so I scrapped it and took a few days to think about it. Also, I am not going to be able to update most likely until the end of next week/the weekend because of a crazy exam/practical schedule, so please forgive the delay. If I find time to take a break from studying, I will.