Chapter 20- Bardock and Bulma??

Disclaimer: I do not own dragon ball or it's characters.

Bardock reached the front door, gave a small knock, but realized that Vegeta had left the door swinging open on his way out in his haste to get training. He pushed it open and wandered through the kitchen. He walked through the tiny hallway, his head nearly brushing the ceiling, which moved higher in anticipation of his possible "injury". He heard a sigh come from the living room and turned right, through the door to the room. There sat Bulma, chin resting on her hands, staring out of the window and up into the sky. He cleared his throat, hoping to get her attention without shocking her, and triggering her formidable temper. When she didn't stir, he wondered if he should speak, remembering he was no longer permitted to call her by name. Before he could decide, she lifted herself off the chair she had been occupying since she first wandered down stairs that morning. She turned in his direction and started slightly, her eyes growing wide for a second before she realized who stood before her and calmed visibly, her mouth growing into a wide grin.

"Hiya Bardock!" she chirped

"Um, hi… woman" her smile disappeared.

"What did you just call me?" she snapped, Bardock squirmed uncomfortably.

"I am no longer permitted to call you by your name" he grumbled slightly.

"Why on earth not?" she was getting angrier, her brows furrowed drastically.

"His majesty claims that it is inappropriate for me to do so."

Her frown melted

"Well you can just ignore him, he's just jealous and trying to make you feel stupid"

"Ok, Bulma" he replied with a mischievous grin, yet again reminding her so much of Goku in his child like sweetness. She began to reminisce again, remembering her brief crush on Goku, after he reappeared from training for the tenka'ichi budokai, no longer a "shrimp" as she so often put it, but as a grown man. She blushed and marveled how much Bardock resembled him, standing there staring at her with a quizzical look on his face.

'A quizzical look?' she suddenly realized 'oh god, I've just been lost in day dreams with him standing there like a spare part, he must think I'm mad!' she pulled herself out of her happy trance.

"Sorry about that, just wandered off onto memory lane for a second there, do you want some coffee or something?" she giggled nervously.

"I…" Bardock began

"No of course, what was I thinking? You don't drink coffee! 'My body is a temple' and all that nonsense…" she rambled nervously

'Why am I nervous all of a sudden?' she thought, frantic to regain control of her own mind.

"Temple?" was all Bardock could think of to say in reply.

"Oh, never mind, its an earth saying… kind of means you like to take care of yourself and stay in good condition."

"Well, thank you then" he grinned

"No, no, it's not really a compliment…" Bardock's face fell, while Bulma fell into a blush. "I need a coffee" she changed the subject and hurried off to the safety of the kitchen to regain her composure.

The quizzical look was planted firmly back on Bardock's face as he watched her disappear from the room and looked around for a space to sit down. He chose the armchair furthest from the window and began to ponder her bizarre behavior.

'Just before, she fell silent and she was staring at me. Her eyes went all glazed over and then she seemed to come to her senses and get embarrassed… it was almost like… NO! I mustn't think such things!' he growled quietly at himself and tried to clear his mind of such ridiculous fantasies. But the little nagging voice persisted in an endless chant

'Take your chance… you'll never see her again… what if? What if? What if?' he concentrated harder to eradicate the voice, but nothing seemed to help.

In the kitchen, Bulma stirred her sugarless coffee; she figured she didn't need to be any more hyperactive than she already was.

'What's gotten into me? What's gotten me so worked up? I feel like I've got a crush on Bardock…' she gulped

"That's bad, that's very, very, bad." She said aloud. She took a deep breath and decided to say goodbye to Bardock as quickly as she could, to avoid any complicated issues coming up. She walked back into the living room, determined to keep her composure, and to not spill her coffee all over the place.

 "So" she started "how are you feeling today?" she asked, before realizing how dumb she was to ask that question to guy who was about to lose his body and become a fluffy cloud for all eternity.

"Ok, I suppose." Bardock grunted, not looking at her. She saw a bead of sweat gathering on one of his temples. She paused, pondering his response.

"That was a blatant lie!" she screeched

"Yeah, well, that was a stupid question!" Bardock screeched back, much to her surprise. He had never raised his voice to her before. She felt tears springing to her eyes. Here she was with a friend who had kept her sane for a year now, and all they could do on their last day together was get awkward and fight.

"That was uncalled for Bardock, how was I supposed to know what to say?" she managed to squeeze the words out before tears broke free and ran down her face. Bardock shifted uneasily

'This isn't exactly going to plan' he thought briefly, before going to Bulma's side and cradling her.

She sobbed a little before calming and looking up at him.

"We can't spend our last day together like this," she said very quietly.

"I know" he replied, lifting her to her feet. "What do you suggest instead?" Bulma looked up sharply, looking into his eyes for added meaning in his words. She saw none, and smiled with relief. She thought for a second and then, in a much happier tone replied

"How about we go harass Yama? I have a suggestion for him!" she grinned mischievously as a plan formed in her head. Bardock looked warily at her for a second, wondering what on earth she could have in mind, but agreed to follow her anyway.

Meanwhile, somewhere in deep space.

"What do you call this?"

"Food, what else?"

"Yajarobe, you said you could cook!!"

"Are you trying to start a fight baldy?"

"Yeah, ok, lets go!"

"Um, not right now, I'm um… eating, yeah!"

"Well there's a surprise."

"I think it tastes good"

"Goku, just stay out of this ok pal?"

Oh dear, what was going on with Bulma and Bardock? Will our brave space adventurers ever get a decent meal? Watch this space!

A.N. I would just like to thank everyone for the positive comments and encouragement I've received via reviews and e mail, I won't be giving up on this fic any time soon now that I know you're still out there ^_^ oh, and please don't ask me when the new chapter will be out, I don't have a comprehensive plan and I don't like it when people show me up for the disorganized waste of space I truly am *blushes* thank you.