Chapter 2 – Pep Talk from ChiChi

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I'm just borrowing. Only the story belongs to me.

Note: Previously, in "Finding Their Way to Each Other," Bulma breaks things off with Yamcha for good and receives a rather strange offer from Vegeta.

Hey, guys! I got the idea for the next chapter of my story and I'm going to update. No spoilers, just keep reading.

2 Days Later…

For the past two days, Bulma had been trying to wrap her head around what Vegeta had told her the night she broke up with Yamcha. He never said such things to her before, so why would he suddenly say it now? She told herself he was probably saying it because of his hatred for the former desert bandit, but was there more to it than that?

Vegeta's hard to read sometimes, she thought. Even if I live to be a hundred, I'll never be able to fully figure him out.

Bulma finally decided to get out of the house for a while to clear her head. She didn't care where she went, as long as it was as far away from Vegeta as possible – at least for the time being. Her travels took her to the home of her childhood friend, Goku, and his wife, ChiChi. She hated to inconvenience them, since Goku was training for the Androids, just like Vegeta was. However, Goku's smile when she landed told her that he didn't mind her being there in the slightest.

"Hey, Bulma," he said. "This certainly is a surprise."

"Yeah, sorry to show up unannounced like this," she said. "I needed to get away for a bit. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say I don't want to deal with a certain Prince at the moment."

Goku's smile faded. "Is Vegeta behaving himself?"

"If by behaving you mean he's being his usual arrogant, smug self, then yeah, he's on his best behavior." She sighed. "In any case, I had to get out of the house and clear my head before I went insane dealing with His Royal Smugness. Doesn't mean I don't feel bad for my father."

"I knew I heard voices out here."

Goku and Bulma turned to see ChiChi standing in the doorway. Just the one I came here to see. Maybe she can offer me some advice.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, Chi," said Bulma. "Things at home have been a bit hectic and…"

"Say no more," her friend said. "I know a thing or two about things being hectic at home. Come on in and tell me about it."

Bulma nodded and, after wishing Goku luck on his training, followed ChiChi into the house. They went to the kitchen, where ChiChi poured them both a cup of tea before sitting at the table. It was quiet for a few minutes until ChiChi broke the silence.

"What's going on, Bulma? You said things were hectic at home. Care to elaborate on that?"

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I? Well, as you're no doubt aware of, Vegeta has been living with me since we got back from Namek," said Bulma. "We've...butted heads on many occasions." She picked up her cup and took a sip from it. "Of course, last night was...surprising, to say the least."

"Surprising?" said ChiChi. "How so?"

"I broke up with Yamcha."

"Well, it's about time you kicked him to curb," said ChiChi. "He's been treating you like shit for too long. Good riddance, I'd say. Let some other woman deal with him."

"That's not the surprising part, though."

"What's the surprising part?"

"It has to do with Vegeta," said Bulma. "He overheard me talking to my mom using that Saiyan hearing of his, which I sometimes I forget he has. Anyway, when I told him that Yamcha and I broke up, he...kind of offered to 'get rid' of him for me."

"Get rid of?" said ChiChi. "You mean...kill him? You didn't take him up on it, did you?"

"As tempting as it was at the time, I refused, telling him that it might have worked during his time with Frieza, we don't do things like that here," said Bulma. "He then told me that he hated hearing me crying as he walked past my door on the way to his room." She took another sip. "That's why I came here. I couldn't sleep last night because all of the things on my mind."

There was a silence as ChiChi contemplated what to say to that. It definitely sounded like Bulma needed some advice about the situation she was facing, first with the break-up (even though it came as a relief because the relationship was way beyond repair as far as Bulma was concerned and if they stayed together, they'd only end up being miserable) and the Vegeta situation (even though "surprising" was putting it mildly). Bulma studied the other woman's face, the only sound being the beating of their hearts.

"For Kami's sake, Chi," she said after a while. "The suspense is killing me, figuratively speaking."

ChiChi scowled at her friend's impatience. "Well, I've already told you my feelings about the break-up, so I don't think you want to hear it again. As far as the Vegeta situation is concerned, I think there's something else going on."

"Something else?" said Bulma. "What do you mean?"

"You said that you've been living together since you got back from Namek."

"Yeah, but what does that have to…"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" said ChiChi. "You have feelings for His Majesty and you're in denial about it."

Bulma went to protest, but the words died before she could form them. Shit, she's right. I do have feelings for Vegeta. I even had that dream where I kissed him. Could it be that I want to do it for real?

ChiChi saw how quiet Bulma had become and smiled. "I wasn't wrong, was I? Though, I do have to admit, for someone who originally wanted to conquer the planet, Vegeta is quite the catch."

Bulma's eyes widened at that. "ChiChi, how could you say such a thing? Besides, you're a married woman!"

"I may be married, but I'm not blind," said ChiChi. "I'm certainly not dead, either." She placed hand on her friend's shoulder. "Seriously, though, Bulma, you shouldn't ignore these feelings you're having. He's in your life for a reason, and not just for a place to eat, sleep, and train."

"What should I do about it? I just got out of a serious but dying relationship. I don't want to make it seem like I'm looking for a rebound."

"I'm not saying to rush into it," said ChiChi. "Just take it slow. Throw some hints his way. Eventually, he'll catch on."

Bulma listened to what her friend was saying. It would definitely take some pushing to get the stubborn Vegeta to see that she was interested in him, but she hoped that he'd catch on, even if she had to use every trick in the book.

Note: Yeah, this was a struggle to write, but I finally got it to where I liked it. For your patience, here is Chapter 2!