Yada, yada. Insert disclaimer here. Yada, yada. DBZ isn't mine; it's property of Toei Animation and Toriyama-sama. Yada, yada. I'm not making any money off this fic, but if you insist on suing me, I'd be happy to give you my textbooks, and my old, crappy DDR pads. ^_^

'………' Thought.

"………" Spoken.



Vegeta sighed; his shoulders were weighted down with what he'd just told that damn woman. This woman was ruining his life. Making the object of his obsession even more difficult to achieve; become a Super Saiya-jin. That's all he'd ever wanted, or so he thought. He shook his head neglectfully. None of this was fair. The prince had never lived his life believing everything was to be fair; he found that out the hard way. He just wanted to be left alone, was it too much to ask? Now this female, with her…curves, and her feminine scent. It was like she was an addiction. He shuddered. She was absolutely nothing like Kakarott's mate, which he was grateful for. Having to live with that? He's sooner kill himself than have to deal with her on a day to day basis.

Deciding there was way too much on his mind to train, he sat himself near a tree, leaning his back against it for support. 'Damn. And I need it, too.' Another soft sigh, and he rested his head in his hands. He was completely lost. Back on Vegeta-sei, he had been too young to have to deal with females, and, well, he never really had the time until now, or even thought about it. And a stupid earth woman, too. For once in his life, the Saiya-jin prince admitted to himself, and only himself, that he didn't know what to do. Helplessness; a feeling he didn't like one bit. Forget not LIKING it, he could barley tolerate it.

Meanwhile, Bulma was still sitting on the roof outside of Vegeta's window. Not because she WANTED to… because she couldn't get down. She grumbled something about showing him when he got back, and made the most pathetic attempted at tree climbing she'd ever imagined possible.

Eyeing the tree that had been outside of the room that Vegeta had staked and claimed his own for as long as she could remember, she grabbed onto one branch at a time, leisurely making her way down. About a quarter of the way from the bottom, she fell straight down, not missing one branch; by the time she laid in a battered heap at the foundation of the tree, she was bruised up reasonably well. It ached to even try and stand. 'Great,' she thought to herself. 'I fell from a tree, and I can't go to work. What the fuck am I going to tell everyone else?'

She finished her protesting, and hobbled back into the house, aching and already weary. Her bright azure eyes peeked into the den, where her father was still watching the morning news. "Dad?" He didn't bother to look towards her; she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Yeah, honey?" His stare was locked on the television.

"I won't be in to work today. Let everyone know for me, please?"

"Sure thing. You sure you're alright?" He still didn't turn around.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. I'll be in tomorrow; have everyone leave me be for today, alright?"

"Right. Get some rest, then."

"Thanks Dad." Bulma sighed. She'd been afraid her father would've thought Vegeta had beaten her or something insane that wasn't near true. Especially after what Vegeta had said to her earlier that morning. She figured he was serious; she'd never known him to drink. Hell, she didn't even know if a Saiya-jin could GET drunk. Chichi never let Gokou drink and she'd never seen Vegeta lay a hand on the stuff. He wouldn't even drink the coffee she offered him every morning at breakfast. No matter to her, as long as he was eating and staying healthy. Gah! Those thoughts again. She wondered why she cared if he was healthy. Part of her mind nagged at her, telling her she'd care if he died, therefore he had to STAY healthy, so he wouldn't die. It was that simple.

Vegeta had long since come back form his "training," and he'd witnessed Bulma's whole incident. He actually felt bad for her, he thought she could get down on her own, and she was looking pretty pained, to say the least. He simply gazed in from her window, watching as she came in and glanced around. Vegeta quickly ducked down, knowing true and well that she couldn't sense ki; therefore if she couldn't see him, she didn't know he was there. Vegeta was almost ashamed of himself for spying like this, but he grinned to himself and peeked up again.

Bulma pulled her T-shirt off, tossing it aside as quickly as she had Yamcha. The Prince of all Saiya-jins could do nothing but let his jaw hang wide. He'd never imagined her like this before. Her waist was petite, just like the rest of her frame. Her breasts fit the size of her body perfectly; not too large but not too small. Fine collarbones tapered into her shoulders, and endless waves of marine colored hair fell into those deep cobalt eyes that Vegeta realized that he treasured so much. It hurt him to see how battered she actually was, and it was all because of him. Because he'd neglected to help her off of the roof. Scratches and bruises covered her upper extremity; ones that he wouldn't have found painful, but he was sure she was hurting pretty badly. She was a female; and she was an Earthling.

He couldn't stand it anymore as she flung herself like a rag doll onto her bed, cringing as he perceived her facial expression. The prince pried open that little female's window, and stepped in, trying to be as quiet as possible. Bulma had been expecting him home sometime around nine, complaining about her not having dinner ready. Having him standing there in her bedroom at ten a.m. was a huge shock to her in its entirety.

"V-Vegeta?" Her voice was hushed, as she turned to gaze at him, meeting his normally bitter coal orbs; now they held something different… regret? Remorse? Whatever it was, Bulma had never before seen anything like it hidden in Vegeta's eyes. Realizing she was only wearing her bra, she scrambled to pull a blanket over herself as Vegeta slowly advanced. She had no idea what he wanted, so all she could do was gaze at him unknowingly. He sighed before he spoke to her.

"I'm sorry," He paused and waved a half in her direction, attempting to point out her various scrapes, cuts, and bangs from her little fall. He sat on the bed beside her, and smirked. She was totally clueless. He knew she cared for him. He could see straight through her little ploy.

"Forget it. How were you supposed to know that I couldn't get down? I'm just a human after all, one that can't even fly." She tried her best to sound like she knew what she was talking about, and for a moment, she thought it was working, but only for a minute.

"Woman, quit your whining. I said I was sorry. Drop it. I'm going to spend the day with you today. Feel honored that I'm doing this of my own will." Bulma stared at him for a moment before brusquely crossing her arms over her chest, her blanket falling as she did. This time, she didn't seem to care.

"While YOU, mighty prince, may be able to take a beating, I can't. I am planning on resting today, so I can get back to work tomorrow. Simple as that. Make our little date some other time, Vegeta." He returned that same stare she'd given him.

"Listen to ME, this time. I am giving my time to spend with you today, and I'll sit here and waste away this whole day if I have to. I'm warning you, if I've given up my training session for today just to get blown off, I won't be a happy man. You've got my word." Bulma couldn't reject. He was just so adorable when he was irritated.

"Fine, fine. We'll sit here and watch movies all day then." Vegeta shrugged. At least she was agreeing to be with him. Maybe today he'd be able to figure out if he really wanted to try and deal with her in whatever this relationship thing that had all these humans so worked up about was. It was going to be a long, long day.