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Life at Capsule Corp
Chapter 2
Bulma woke the next morning disoriented; although her head felt clearer than it had done since she'd caught this virus, her memory of the previous night was cloudy. She remembered working in her lab and vaguely remembered Vegeta being in her room.
Rubbing her eyes, she went to sit up when something warm and furry draped itself over her waist. Biting back the urge to scream, she looked down and immediately recognised the soft appendage. Along with the recognition came the flood of last night's memories.
A pleased little smile crept across her face, and she slowly turned to face him, to watch him as he slept. In sleep, all lines were smoothed from his face, and the ever-present scowl was absent.
As she watched him breathing softly, she considered their current situation.
Their relationship has always been a tense one, poised on the brink of self-destruction ever since they'd first met. She wouldn't class them as friends as they barely spoke and weren't even vaguely close, but every now and then they would click. She admired his dedication to his craft and he in turn respected her for being able to keep up with him and his destructive nature; every time he smashed up a training robot, she'd have another improved one waiting. The initial uncomfortable silences that had pervaded when they had first met and tried to converse had vanished, and they were now able to sit in the same room in complete silence and feel absolutely comfortable with one another's presence.
It was just a shame that his quiet acceptance of her hadn't spread to the rest of the Z-team. He still seemed to hate everyone, Goku especially, and refused to show even a glimmer of pleasantry to anyone – her included – outside of the Briefs' household. So, when she had mentioned to Chichi about a time when he had helped her with some maintenance around the house, Chichi hadn't believed her.
In fact recently, now that she had a moment to think about it, they had been growing closer, but in such a subtle way and so gradually that she hadn't noticed. She had found herself giving him more than just the quick occasional glance, and had often turned to say something to him only to find him already looking at her. And now he had gone out of his way to comfort her when she needed it. It seemed that what they said might actually be true; that in every strong man, there is a gentle side.
And now he was asleep in her bed, his tail wrapped around her, slowly tightening its grip as he drifted back to the waking world. Opening his sleepy eyes and yawning, he put his arm around her and pulled her to him, still half asleep, snuggling his face into the crook of her neck.
"That's better," he murmered drowsily, "much more comfortable."
He lay like that for a moment or two longer, longer than a joke would dictate.
He sighed.
"I shouldn't be here."
Bulma was in no rush to chivvy this suddenly, and surprisingly cuddly oversized teddy bear from her bed, but sighed nonetheless.
"No."
"I should go."
His tail wrapped more tightly around her. Curiosity taking her, Bulma lightly stroked it, urging a low purr from his relaxed body.
"Yes."
"After all…my body can't train itself."
Bulma pulled her head back, and looked him in the eye, a smile lighting her own. She planted a quick kiss – oddly, it felt right to do it – on his forehead, before rolling him towards the edge of the mattress.
"Thank you for staying with me last night, but you need to train!"
She stopped pushing him as he'd fall out of the bed if she rolled him any further. He sat up and, throwing the covers back, stood and grabbed his garments.
He looked down at her with an unreadable expression,
"I am glad you are feeling better. Rest well."
Without another word, he left.
**
Vegeta sat cross-legged in the middle of the gravity room, his eyes closed, trying to meditate. Trying being the operative word; it was much later than he'd thought as he left the woman's room so he'd come straight out here without going to his room to shower and change. It didn't matter if he reeked, no-one could smell him in here.
A faint scowl drew his eyebrows together as another whiff of her scent reached his nose; he fair stank of her, he couldn't concentrate like this.
With an irritated sound, he rose to his feet and headed to the pod's small living quarters to bathe.
**
Bulma was feeling much better. After a few days bed rest, she had felt human enough to get up. However, she didn't feel well enough to go back to work just yet so she was sitting in the living room with a book while her mother devoured a small heap of cream cakes.
Her father shuffled into the room, yawning and stretching the kinks out of his back. Even the cat on his shoulder looked tired.
"Oh deary me, Vegeta's getting through more robots than underpants these days."
Bulma felt a surge of guilt; she was normally the one that dealt with any Vegeta-inflicted damages and repairs, but while she'd been out of commission, Dr Briefs had taken over. She vowed to get back to work first thing in the morning.
"Feeling better, Bulma dear?"
She smiled up at the dotty old man,
"Yes thanks. Look, Dad, I-"
She didn't get a chance to finish her apology as the house started shaking and a loud explosion rocked it violently. Instantly knowing who was responsible for the mini-quake, Bulma jumped up to look out of the window and gasped in surprise.
What was left of Vegeta's gravity pod was lying on its side, the ceiling blown clear off and smoke was puthering from the gaping hole. Rubble littered the lawn and there was no sign of Vegeta.
Dashing out the room and pelting down the stairs, Bulma's heart beat wildly in panic. She threw open the back door and raced over to the pod, yelling Vegeta's name. Stopping at the edge of the devastation, she glanced quickly around; there was no sign of movement. Quickly dropping to her knees, she lifted chunks of rubble aside, trying to find him. Snatching her hand back as she burnt it on a red hot, twisted piece of metal, she stopped, hoping against all the evidence to the contrary that he was okay.
A bloody hand suddenly shot up through the rubbish, startling her enough for her to fall back. As the owner of the hand pulled himself free of the wreckage, Bulma breathed a sigh of relief,
"Vegeta! Are you alright?"
He stood on shaky legs and smirked unsteadily at her,
"Heh, of course I am." And promptly passed out, crashing backwards onto the junk pile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vegeta: *scowling* I don't like the way you're painting me, woman.
Doc: *Putting down paintbrush* Sorry?
Vegeta: ACK! *facevaults*
Doc: heh heh, oops…
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