A\N: this chapter is definitely longer than the last one… so I guess its better

Disclaimer : don't own DBZ

Making Progress

A thin stream of moonlight shone through a crack in the curtains and over the figure of a slender, restless girl, tossing and turning in her bed. She pushed her aqua hair to one side and sighed. After a while, Bulma crawled out of bed and pulled on a thick bathrobe. She opened her balcony door and stepped out in to the cool night air. A chill swept over her and she shivered.

"Damn, it's cold", she muttered.

"Talking to yourself?" a voice asked. Bulma whirled around but didn't see anyone. She looked up at the roof and saw Vegeta sitting comfortably, dressed in a black jacked and pajama bottoms.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked.

"Couldn't sleep", Vegeta shrugged.

"Same here", Bulma sighed. Vegeta hopped off the roof and landed smoothly beside Bulma. She looked ahead at the many lights from the city, trying to keep her eyes from wandering to him.

"It's a pretty sight", Bulma said to herself. Vegeta raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Bulma glared at him and sighed. "It reminds me of home", she continued.

"You are home", Vegeta replied.

"Vegeta", Bulma began softly, "home isn't just a … location. That would be your house. Home is with your loved ones. My… my mom and dad… I remember my mom used to buy my favorite cereal. Those little ones with the alphabet. I'd eat all the letters expect the ones that spelled Bulma… but that was over fifteen years ago", She looked up at Vegeta as he quickly looked away.

"What about you?" Bulma asked. Vegeta turned and gave her a weird look.

"What about me?"

"I- Well, don't you think about your family?"

"There isn't much to think about. Everyone's dead"

"But, doesn't that make you sad?"

Vegeta sighed at this question, then answered carefully, "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean I don't fell pain. But, I don't have to show that I feel it either"

Bulma was speechless for a moment as she allowed Vegeta's words to sink in. He had been hurting all along, just like her. But why did their pain feel so different? While Bulma had freely expressed all her emotions and received comfort from her friends, Vegeta had kept his sadness bottled up. Bulma shivered slightly, then felt a sudden warmth spread over her. She looked to her side and saw that Vegeta had draped his jacket over her, leaving him shirtless. She made no comment to this, but secretly enjoyed this new side of Vegeta.

"Is it warm enough?" Bulma asked, handing a blanket to Vegeta. He grunted and sat down on the sofa in Bulma's room. They'd just returned after half an hour of standing outside. During this short period of time, Vegeta spoke more words than Bulma had heard from him all her life. He told her of his childhood; his father abusing his mother, his younger sister's tragic death, and how eventually his left his aunt to die. Bulma had cried through most of it while Vegeta nonchalantly assured her he was used to everything. He insisted things weren't going to change, and there was no use in being sad about it.

Then, Bulma had invited him to spend the night in her room, believe it would be easier to fall asleep. Vegeta had accepted the large sofa in one corner of Bulma's room as well as several blankets. He settled in as Bulma took one last look at him, then crawled into her bed.

A/N: ok… so its longer than the last one… but its actually a lot shorter than most of the fanfics I've read… but the next one is going to be long. I promise XD

Please review!