Chapter 4: Camp-Out

"Lunch time!" Chi-chi called from the kitchen. Bulma rolled out of bed and pulled on a shirt and pants. Vegeta sighed, forced himself up, and also started getting dressed.

Trunks ran in. "You're gonna have to hurry or the food'll be go- um…just hurry, alright?" He ran out again.

Bulma laughed. "Well, you heard. Lets go eat."

Vegeta smiled slightly, then followed Bulma to the kitchen.

"So, how long will you guys be staying?" Chi-chi asked.

"Not for long, probably," Bulma replied. "Why?"

"Well, I'm going to have to go shopping, and I'm not sure if I'll have enough money to get food for you three too." Chi-chi shook her head. "I'd like you to stay, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pay for the food."

"We can camp at Capsule Corp.," Vegeta snorted. "What's the problem?"

"Chi-chi, could you look after Trunks? I'll pay for his food and everything. Vegeta and I can camp out." Bulma smiled at Vegeta. "You finally had a good suggestion."

Vegeta snorted, then went back to stuffing his face with the lunch.

Bulma frowned. "Come on, I was just joking!"

Vegeta blinked, then shrugged.

"Do you have any camping stuff?" Chi-chi asked, changing the subject.

"No…" Bulma frowned. "I suppose we'll have to go shopping and buy some. We can go after lunch, I guess. Could you take us when you go shopping?"

"Sure," Chi-chi replied. "Not a problem. Though you might have trouble getting in the car on the way back."

"I can buy us a car when we get there. Thanks, Chi-chi," Bulma smiled.

Chi-chi smiled back. "No problem. We can leave…just after I finish the washing-up."

"Great." Bulma finished up her lunch, then brought the dishes into the kitchen to help Chi-chi start the washing-up.

Vegeta and Goku walked outside to spar while Bulma and Chi-chi did the washing-up. Goku kicked at Vegeta, but Vegeta ducked it, and punched at Goku. Goku blocked, and countered with a leg-sweep, which flipped Vegeta onto his back. Vegeta rolled back to his feet, avoiding a ki blast, and sent his own back at Goku. Goku dodged it easily, then spun to block Vegeta as he lashed out with his foot. Goku punched at Vegeta's stomach, but Vegeta blocked it.

As they struggled for control, Vegeta heard laughter. He turned his head to find Trunks and Goten, a little way off, and in exactly the same positions he and Goku were in. Both were giggling hysterically. Vegeta growled at them.

Trunks blinked. Then sighed. "Come on, Goten," he said dejectedly, then dragged the still-laughing Goten back into the house.

Vegeta sighed, then ducked as Goku swung another punch at him.

Bulma walked out. "Vegeta, we're going now! Get over here!"

Vegeta slipped out of the headlock and flipped Goku into a rock. "You go shopping on your own! You don't need me along."

"You suggested it, so you're coming! Now get over here, princeling, so we can get this done before dinner!"

Vegeta groaned, then walked over. He jumped into the car, and Chi-chi drove them off to town.

"Here's the clothes store!" Bulma grinned, stopping the shiny new car just outside. "You stay here and look after the car, I'll be right back."

"You mean you don't want me coming in there and messing up your deals with the manager," Vegeta snorted.

"Well, did you really expect him to just give you the car because you said you were the 'saiyajin no ouji'? What does it matter, anyhow? It's not as if you've got anyone to rule over."

"Kakarotto."

"Oh yes, you've got him. Not that he'd ever actually blow someone up just because they wouldn't give you a car."

"Yeah whatever, can we just get this over with so I can go back to sparring?" Vegeta groaned.

Bulma laughed. "Did you think we were going back to the Son house now? No, we're going to go eat out somewhere, then we'll go set up camp. And tomorrow we can order the building supplies, go out for lunch, and get the builders started-"

"I don't want any stupid humans messing around with my gravity room!"

Bulma sighed. "Well, then you'll have to do all the building yourself, and I won't allow anything of the sort, so…"

"Kakarotto can do it."

"Goku? He couldn't put together a kinder surprise if you told him 50 times! How's he meant to put together a house!"

"I'll tell him what goes where, of course."

"Okay," Bulma frowned, "but you're not to help with any of the lifting, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Vegeta sighed. "Honestly, you're so fussy, I don't know why I put up with you…"

"Because you love me, and I built you the gravity room," Bulma replied coldly.

"Well, because you built the gravity room," Vegeta teased.

Bulma mock-growled at him. "And you're a stupid, arrogant, ignorant, brainless-"

"Prince," Vegeta finished for her.

Bulma frowned. "How come you're not the king? I mean, you're dad died, didn't he?"

"Yes…but I wasn't crowned king, hence, I'm not king," Vegeta shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to wait until we get another wish."

"I doubt anyone would let you use that wish."

Vegeta leaned into her and whispered in her ear, "Who said they'd be the ones giving the orders by then?"

Bulma shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to get the camping equipment. You-"

"Stay in the car, I know," Vegeta grumbled. "Get on with it."

Bulma sighed, then walked into the store.

Vegeta waited in the car, staring at his feet, glancing around at what was going on every now and then. "Protect the car. Feh," he frowned, glaring at an old couple hobbling past, "it's not as if anything will happen, anyway…"

The driver's door opened and Juu-hachi-gou 2 sat down. "Why, hello."

"Get away from me, android!" Vegeta spat at her.

"Why, that isn't nice. It's not as if I enjoy this. Krillin ordered me to. Anyway, he said to tell you that 'playtime's over and now the big boys are coming to play king-of-the-hill'." She shrugged. "Anyway, see you around." She slipped out of the car, and was quickly lost in the busy crowds.

Vegeta scowled, forcing his heart back to its normal rate. "What does 'king-of-the-hill' mean, anyway," he grumbled.

"I don't know, should I?"

Vegeta turned to see Bulma standing near the car, glaring at him. "What!" he growled.

"Would you please help me carry the bags to the car?" Bulma asked sweetly.

"Fine," Vegeta sighed, getting out of the car and following Bulma back to where the packages were piled. He picked them up, and carried them to the car, pausing as Bulma opened the trunk before shoving them all in. He sprang easily into the front passenger seat of the car, pulling the door shut after him.

Bulma sat in the driver's seat, and pulled the car away from the kerb.

As they drove away, Vegeta thought he saw Juu-hachi-gou 2 grinning at him, but by the time he turned to look, she was gone.

Bulma drove to Capsule Corps., and parked the car in what had been the garage. She got out, and pulled the tent out of the trunk, carrying it over to the back yard. She pulled the handle, and the tent sprang up.

Vegeta strolled up behind her. "Why're we using such an old-fashioned tent?" he asked.

"I decided it would be fun. I mean, we haven't had a proper vacation since…forever." She frowned at the tent. "You think it should be a little more to the left?"

Vegeta sighed. "It's alright where it is, now let's get on with it already. I'm hungry."

"Nobody would know, considering the amount you ate for lunch," Bulma teased.

Vegeta glared at her.

"Yeah, fine, okay, we'll go out for dinner in a sec, I just want to get changed…" She grabbed the top package and hurried inside.

Vegeta sighed and leaned against the car. Bored, he looked around. Capsule Corps. was essentially flattened. However, the gravity room was still standing…

"Okay, let's go!" Bulma strode out of the tent, wearing a red silk top and a black velvet skirt.

Vegeta sighed. "Silk and velvet?"

"Yes. We're going somewhere with good food. Therefore…" she twirled, "well-dressed. You should get something fancy on too."

"I don't have anything 'fancy'."

"That's okay." Bulma winked at him. "I got something for you."

Vegeta glared down at the black silk shirt and pants. "It looks ridiculous," he grumbled.

"Nonsense!" Bulma grinned. "You look fantastic!"

"Oh, great," Vegeta said sarcastically. "I can see you've got great 'fashion sense'."

Bulma frowned at him. "Actually, I do. Those clothes suit you perfectly, and they fit. I wasn't sure of your sizes, I had to guess, but I did a pretty good job, don't you think?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Great!" Bulma flashed a dazzling smile at him, opened the car door, and jumped in.

Vegeta groaned, then slid into the passenger seat.

Bulma pressed a button, and the car zipped off.

It seemed to Vegeta that this had to be the fanciest restaurant in the universe. He looked down at the table, which had about 50 different kinds of forks on it, and sighed. "What's this for?" he asked, glaring up at the waiter.

"Why, that's the chicken-prepared-in-a-cheese-sauce-fork, sir," the waiter answered immediately.

"Why did we come here to eat?" Vegeta complained to Bulma.

"Well, it has the very best food, and the very best servers." Bulma wiped her mouth daintily on a napkin.

Vegeta looked down at the forks again. "How am I meant to tell these apart, anyway!"

"It's very simple," Bulma said, leaning over. "The ones with seven prongs are for fish, the ones with twelve are for sushi, the ones with six prongs are for chicken, the ones with eight prongs are for chicken in a sauce, the ones with five prongs are for turkey, the ones with three prongs are for the solid dishes that nobody knows the ingredients to, the ones with four prongs are for vegetables, the ones with five and a half prongs are for beef, the ones with three and a half prongs are for pork, and the ones with two prongs are for various deserts."

"And how the hell am I meant to remember all this!" Vegeta grabbed a fork at random and began eating.

"No! You can't use your chicken-pot-pie fork to eat roast chicken!"

"Why not?" Vegeta paused, the fork halfway to his mouth.

"It's considered very bad taste, and sometimes even rude." Bulma glared at him.

Fine!" Vegeta glared back. "Which fork do you use to eat roast chicken, then!"

"That one," Bulma replied instantly, pointing at a seven-inch-long fork with six prongs. "That's for roast chicken."

"Okay, then," Vegeta said sarcastically, picking the correct fork up and using it to eat the chicken.

Desserts arrived. "Alright, which fork is for the chocolate-fudge-cake-with-mint-icing?" Vegeta sighed.

"That one," Bulma replied.

Vegeta picked it up, and started eating.

"Sir has excellent taste," one of the passing waiters commented. Vegeta smirked.

Bulma sighed. "Great, expand the ouji's ego. Superb planning there, Goku."

"How'd you know it was me?" Goku frowned. "I'm meant to be in disguise."

Bulma sighed again. "Well Goku, if you're in disguise you should hide your hair. Yours is very…distinctive."

"…oh." Goku frowned. "D'you think I should use some gel in it?"

"NO! I mean, no, Goku, it sticks up quite enough as it is."

"Oh. Then should I dye it? Or maybe I should curl it, that'd look cool…" Goku speculated.

"NO! You should cover it! Use a hat or something!"

"But I don't have a hat," Goku grinned at Bulma. "My hair doesn't fit."

Bulma groaned, then turned back to eating her apple-berry sundae.

Vegeta had already finished his chocolate fudge cake, and was sitting there staring at Bulma.

Bulma blushed, and put down her fork. "I'm full," she smiled, and stood.

"What about the bill?" Vegeta asked, curious.

"Oh, I own this restaurant. I don't ask for anything except that me and my friends be able to eat here for free."

"…oh. Makes sense," Vegeta agreed. He took her hand, and walked back to the car with her.

Bulma woke up to the sunlight shining through the walls of the tent. She rolled over sleepily, then sat straight upright. Vegeta was gone! She pulled a dressing gown on, and searched the tent. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.

An exploding noise came from outside. Bulma frowned, then clenched her teeth in anger, stomping over to the gravity room and slamming the door open.

Vegeta looked up, surprised. "What now!" he snarled.

"What do you mean, 'what now'!" Bulma snapped back. "I wake up to find you gone, I was out of my mind with worry for you, and now I find you here, doing the one thing you're forbidden from doing! What did you have it set to, anyway!"

Vegeta moved quickly to cover the computer. "Umm…10x earth gravity?"

Bulma looked suspiciously at him, then pushed him out of the way and glared at the screen. "10x, yeah right! More like 300x! You're not allowed to train! You've got to help me re-build Capsule Corps., since it's your fault it cot burnt down anyway. Now come over here and we can decide on plans for the house."

Vegeta sighed, but followed Bulma back into the tent, where Bulma pulled out the blueprints to the original Capsule Corps. "Right, this is what it looked like. Do we want to make any modifications?"

Vegeta shook his head stubbornly.

"Great! That means that I can go straight ahead and order the materials." Bulma grinned, and picked up the phone. "Hello, is this the building supplies stockyard? This is Bulma Briefs… Listen, we had a fire a few nights ago and the building burnt down, do you have the list from the original order…? Yes, we need everything. No, we have…some people who are willing to re-build it by themselves. Yes, probably, but they insisted…yes…yes…thanks, bye." She clicked off the phone. "They'll be here in about half an hour. I'm going to have a shower and get dressed. I want you," she poked Vegeta in the chest, "to clear away all the junk from the old building. And I don't want to find you training. Understand?"

Vegeta sighed, then nodded.

"Great. Bye!" Bulma waved to him, opened a capsule house, and disappeared inside.

Vegeta glared at the mess of concrete on the lawn. Suddenly, he brightened up. He sent a small ki blast at one of the pieces of concrete. It blew up, leaving a small scorch mark on the ground. Vegeta grinned, sending more ki blasts at the rubble. Soon, the lawn was cleared.

Vegeta had just finished when a construction truck pulled up in front of the lawn. The driver leaned out and waved to him.

Vegeta headed inside, to find Bulma just finishing off putting on her make-up. "There's the guys from the company outside to see you," he said coldly.

Bulma nodded, frowning into the mirror as she applied her eyeliner. "Do you think I should put on a bit more eye shadow?"

Vegeta shrugged. "I don't know why you bother to use that stuff at all. It really doesn't help."

Bulma smiled, and put down the eyeliner. "They're here already? Great. Tell them I'll be out in a minute."

Vegeta frowned at her. "So I'm your messenger boy now?"

Bulma sighed. "Fine, don't bother. I guess I'm done now, anyway." She picked up her handbag, and followed Vegeta outside. "Hi! Yeah, I ordered that stuff. Bulma Briefs, Capsule Corps.," she said, holding out her hand.

The driver shook it. "Kerry Black, construction company. This guy" he cast a disapproving look at Vegeta, "the one who's building the place for ya? I mean, it doesn't look as if he could reach the lower floors, let alone the top of the dome. You hiring a crane?"

"No, I don't-"

"Listen here, you," Vegeta interrupted, "I can build anything I want to, I don't need some high-school brat telling me how to do it, and I could easily reach the top of any building you care to name!"

"Hey, chill," Kerry retorted. "Ya sound like ya gotta problem there. I reckon ya should hire a crane, missus, that's all I'm sayin'." He got back in the truck. "Hey little guy, ya unloadin', or what?"

Vegeta sighed, then walked round to the back of the truck and grabbed the pile of building supplies, dumping it on the lawn.

Kerry stared at him. "You can lift that pile in one go, man?"

"Yeah, it's easy," Vegeta snorted, glaring at Kerry.

Kerry shrugged. "You're really strong, mister."

"Yes, and he shouldn't be lifting that much at once. He should be recovering," Bulma said, glaring at Vegeta.

Vegeta shrugged. "It wasn't that heavy."

Kerry drove off quickly.

"Yes, but you don't need to hurt yourself in order to show off! He would have been as impressed if you'd taken half the pile at a time, and then you wouldn't have to run the risk of injuring yourself!"

Vegeta sighed. "So what? I'm not injured, the stuff's all here, where's the instructions? Or am I expected to put it together by guesswork?"

"NO! Of course not, idiot! There's no chance you'd get half of it right!"

Vegeta glared at her. "Really? Well then, would you care to hand me the instructions? Or get me some breakfast, I'm hungry."

Bulma glared back. "Get your own breakfast, I'm not your slave!"

"Fine!" Vegeta stomped into the capsule house.

"Fine!" Bulma retorted, turning her back on him and striding into the tent.

Five minutes later, Bulma walked into the capsule house and sat down at the table next to Vegeta. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Vegeta put down his knife and fork. "Great. Now, instructions?"

Bulma sighed. "I'll have them ready for you by tomorrow. I'm sorry, but last time the builders did it from memory, and we never needed any actual plans."

Vegeta shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

They sat in silence. Then Bulma got up. "Well, if I'm going to have those plans done by the end of today, I guess I'd better get started." She turned, and left.

Vegeta finished his breakfast, and walked into an office. He pulled out some sheets of paper, and started designing his latest idea: an automated robot, which could adapt itself for any environment or circumstance. Vegeta was inventing it as a super-smart sparring partner, one who could instantly adapt another fighter's skills for its own use.

He was so busy he didn't notice the time until Bulma came in. "We're going out for dinner in five minutes, so get changed…what's that you've been working on?"

Vegeta hastily shoved the completed robot plans into his pocket. "Nothing."

Bulma shrugged, then frowned at him. "You didn't have any lunch, did you? Idiot! How do you expect to get better if you don't eat!"

Vegeta scowled at her. "I'll manage."

Great!" Bulma threw her hands in the air. "You won't eat, you insist on training, when do you expect to get better, next year!"

Vegeta reached up and kissed her. "I love you when you're angry," he whispered in her ear.

Bulma blushed, then pushed him away and turned quickly. "I'm going to get changed. You put something nice on, okay?" She left in a hurry.

Vegeta sighed, then walked into the tent and pulled out the black silk clothes. He scowled at them in disgust, then spotted something underneath them. Grinning, he tossed the silk aside and pulled out a pair of navy satin pants and black boots with gold trimmings. Along with it was a navy satin top, long-sleeved, and white gloves, also trimmed with gold. Vegeta discarded his training clothes and put on the satin. Finally, he pulled on the gloves and boots. Lastly, he pulled his medallion from childhood out of his hair and slipped it around his neck. Finally, he strode outside to meet Bulma by the car.

Bulma looked him up and down in wonder. 'Wow, he actually looks like a prince!' she thought. "You ready?" she asked, allowing nothing of the amazement she felt to creep into her voice.

Vegeta smiled. "Of course."

It was later that night. They had finished their dinner, and Bulma was driving them back home. "I think you were very well mannered tonight, Vegeta," Bulma said. "You actually acted like a prince."

Vegeta sighed. "I am a prince. Therefore, however I act, I act like a prince."

"Yes, but the manager actually commented on it. He said that if he didn't know better, he'd think you were the king of a planet."

"I am." Vegeta smirked, then turned away.

They drove the rest of the way home in silence. When they pulled up in front of the former Capsule Corps., Bulma was surprised to see Goku standing near the gravity room. "Why're you here?" she asked Goku, as she got out of the car.

"Oh, I'm over here to spar with Vegeta," Goku replied cheerfully.

Bulma glared at both of them. "No! Vegeta, your recent injuries haven't recovered sufficiently to allow immense physical activity!"

"What's that mean?" Goku asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Bulma sighed. "It means that Vegeta's still hurt from before and shouldn't train or spar for a while."

Vegeta glared at Bulma.

"She's right, you shouldn't fight when you're hurt. It's not like you have to get super-strong all of a sudden," Goku agreed.

Vegeta spun around, and glared at Goku too. He quickly formed a ki blast, and threw it at Goku.

Goku easily deflected it back at Vegeta, who barely dodged it in time. "See, Vegeta? I can't spar with you until you can deflect your own ki blasts, it'd be stupid."

Bulma strode over and slapped Vegeta. "And don't you even think about going Super Saiya-jin! Not for a week at least, or I'll destroy the gravity room!"

Vegeta opened his mouth, then shut it again, spun around, and walked away.

"And you're not allowed to fly, either!"

Vegeta turned quickly. "And how are people supposed to know I'm a saiya-jin if I'm not allowed to fight, fly, or go Super Saiya-jin! It's like I'm not even a saiya-jin any more!"

"Calm down, Vegeta," Goku said, walking over and putting a hand on Vegeta's shoulder.

Vegeta shook it off angrily, and glared at Bulma.

"It's not as if anyone could forget you're saiya-jin! You remind us every other sentence, and your hair is rather obvious."

"That's not the point! There are plenty of stupid Chikyuu-jin who go around with spiked hair and say they're from another planet but how are people supposed to know who's real and who's just pretending! It's not as if any of them have a brain capacity beyond the size of a grain of rice!" Vegeta yelled.

Bulma paused, then walked over to Vegeta and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Vegeta. I didn't know your saiya-jin heritage meant so much to you, or I wouldn't have teased you about it."

Vegeta patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "It's alright, Bulma." He turned to glare at Goku. "Get out of my sight!"

Goku shrugged, then teleported off home.

Vegeta carried Bulma into the house. "How about some…gentle exercise before we go to bed?" he said softly.

"You'll need plenty of energy tomorrow," Bulma reminded him.

"I'm a saiya-jin," Vegeta chuckled, dropping her on the bed. "We have plenty of energy."