A/N: oh. Did I forget to say that this story has a sad ending?

Disclaimer: dbz not mine

Chapter 8

A week seemed longer than a year for Bulma Briefs, who spent every moment waiting for Vegeta to return. She searched endlessly, calling up her friends for help. No one could find Vegeta.

"I'm sorry Bulma. I really, really think you should call the police tomorrow. Just to be sure you've done absolutely everything", Chichi chided Bulma, giving her friend a quick hug. The aqua hair girl nodded and gave her best friend a weak smile.

"Bye!" Goku called out from the car as Chichi climbed in. Bulma waved silently, then closed the door. Another lonely day with no one to keep her company. Bulma sighed and walked up the stairs, yawning as she pushed open the door. She climbed sleepily into bed and turned off the lamp on her bedside table. Another day of exhausting work, another day with no result.

"Dammit, Vegeta! Where the hell did you go?" Bulma moaned in frustration. She buried her face in the pillow and let out a muffled scream.

"Who knew you could make so much noise?" a sarcastic voice asked. Bulma immediately pulled her head up, searching for the speaker.

"Vegeta?" she asked hopefully, recognizing the gruff voice. With a smirk plastered over his graceful features, Vegeta stepped into view. Bulma froze, not believing shat she saw. Why did he come back? As she regained her senses, Bulma felt anger rising inside her. She stood up slowly, stepping forward until she was inches from Vegeta. Standing on her tiptoes, she met Vegeta's eyes and gave him a long stare. The silence was shattered when Bulma began yelling at the top of her lungs, causing Vegeta to step back.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO? HOW COULD YOU JUST TAKE OFF LIKE THAT? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK BACK HERE? WHY WOULD I LET YOU RETURN WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOOKE FOR YOU? HOW MUCH WE ALL LOOKED FOR YOU? WHY'D YOU JUST- "

"Are you done yet?" Vegeta interrupted, crossing his arms. Bulma sighed and shook her head.

"You know what? You're hopeless. HOPELESS! Go burn in hell", she said, stalking back to her bed. Vegeta remained motionless, trying to decide what to do nest.

"Listen to me", he finally said, sitting down beside Bulma, "I know you're really pissed off. But I'm back, right? Are you going to kick me out?"

Bulma considered this option thoughtfully, then shook her head, a look of defeat on her face. Vegeta smirked and gave her a hug. He made his way to the sofa and laid down.

"Go to sleep"

Bulma obeyed and crawled under her covers.

"You know I'd never kick you out", she said finally.

"Never kick you out … " Vegeta replayed these words in his head with a sense of relief. He didn't know what he would have done if Bulma really didn't accept him again. A week's worth of loneliness in a cabin taught him to appreciate the company of others. He realized how much he missed the yelling, the bickering… the food, and how much u missed having Bulma by his side.

Bulma squinted as the morning sun glared upon her sleepy eyes. She crawled out of bed and yawned. As she clanged in the corner and saw Vegeta, the past week's events came flooding over her. The whole time Vegeta was gone, Bulma had trouble sleeping. She didn't do anything during the day except search for Vegeta. Each night, with no result, Bulma would go to bed and promise herself she'd find him the next day.

"Stubborn freakin' little…" she muttered, walking over to the sofa. She knelt down on the floor to get a better view of Vegeta. His features were arranged in a scowl, but there was a soft gentleness behind the angry demeanor. Bulma sighed and rubber her head, leaning against a pillow Vegeta had frown on the floor. This slight movement caused Vegeta to wake and find himself lost in a tangle of messy blue hair. A pair of sparkling aqua eyes peeked cautiously at him, causing Vegeta to frown.

"What the hell are you looking at?" he demanded, sitting up. Bulma stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and stalked off into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and quickly pulled on a thin jacket before heading downstairs. Vegeta relaxed against the sofa and watched Bulma's retreating form, secretly smiling to himself.

"Vegeta! You can't just leave – Vegeta! Damn! Get your ass over… here", Bulma had started out yelling across the pyramids of oranges and apples and quickly lowered her voice when everyone turned to look at her. She stood awkwardly next to a row of bananas and glared angrily at Vegeta who was messing around in the vegetable section.

After Bulma had made breakfast for the both of them, Vegeta volunteered to accompany Bulma to the grocery store. At first, the girl had been excited, but the trip turned out to be disastrous since Vegeta refused to listen to her. Bulma shook her head and looked down at the shopping cart parked in front of her. She quickly scanned the item, decided the shopping was done, and headed for the checkout stands. Vegeta followed silently, glaring at a little boy who never ceased to stare at him.

As Bulma waited in line, Vegeta found a fountain and sat near it, watching Bulma from a distance. He couldn't help feeling light hearted as he watched her move gracefully, hading a credit card to the cashier. If only there was a way for them to become closer. Vegeta sighed. Why did they have to argue all the time? He knew they both had impossibly stubborn personalities, but that wasn't a reason enough to keep them apart.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. Of course! Bulma had been hurt. Deeply wounded. She was still hurt. She had kept to herself from love because she had experienced the pain it brought. Vegeta unconsciously closed his hands into a tight fist as he remembered Yamcha and Alana. He felt himself fill up with hatred at what they had done. Lost in his thoughts, Vegeta almost punched Bulma, who had just walked up to him. He drew back his arms immediately and kept a slight distance from the girl, who was looking at him suspiciously. I have to show her. Love isn't pain. Vegeta thought as they walked towards the car. But how could he do that? He knew they had a rough past, with plenty of yelling and plenty of tears. But Vegeta decided he could start fresh. He could start over the relationship.

"I'll drive", he announced as Bulma stuck the car keys in the door. She paused and looked up at him with a strange expression which slowly broke into a grin.

"I get it. You'll take off and leave me stranded, huh?"

"What? Stupid woman. Just get in".

"Fine, Vegeta".

Vegeta inserted the keys and started the engine, pulling skillfully onto the road while Bulma leaned back against her seat.

"Hey! Capsule Corp. is this way!" she whined, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I never said where we were going"

"You -" Bulma found nothing to counter these words with and sat back. They drove in silence for several minutes, then Vegeta pulled into a large parking lot and smirked at Bulma.

"This is a restaurant", she said dumbly, looking around at the buildings.

"And guess what time it is", Vegeta replied sarcastically.

"You're taking me to lunch?" Bulma asked in disbelief.

"Would you rather have me leave you in the car?" Vegeta retorted, raising an eyebrow. Bulma grinned and quickly looped her arm thorough Vegeta's, dragging him into the restaurant.

"I have to admit I'm surprised", Vegeta said lightly, watching Bulma climb into the car.

"Why?"

"It's surprising how you can eat so much, yet stay so thin", Vegeta mused, starting the car. Bulma cocked an eyebrow at him and smiled, enjoying the compliment. The car pulled onto the road and Bulma immediately noticed they were diving away from Capsule Corp.

"We had lunch already, so - "

"Did I say we were going home?"

"But- "

"Shhh. I have something to show you", Vegeta said. Bulma's eyes lit up and she obeyed. As they drove, Bulma continuously snuck glances at Vegeta, who never took his eyes off the road. They drove in silence until the car finally pulled into a small, grassy area with a few tress carrying beautiful blossoms.

"Vegeta? Where are we?"

"Here"

"But where are we? Hey! Where are you going? Vegeta come back!" Bulma yelled, chasing after Vegeta who had jumped out of the car, ducked behind a tree, and disappeared.

A/N : kinda a cliffy… yes? Um… enjoy!