Well, here we go again! Hope you all love it so far, cuz I'm LOVING writing this!

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own DBZ. :Big sigh: Oh well…

Melting a Winter Heart

Chapter Four: Gorgeous

The ringing of the cell phone interrupted Bulma as she adjusted the screws on the latest training bot. "Oh great, and I just started!" Ever since the conversation she'd had with Vegeta the day before she had begun to understand why he trained so hard. Now she'd finally gotten a start on her best idea yet, and the phone just had to ring. "This had better be ~really~ good," she growled picking up the offending device. "'Lo?"

"Hiya babe!" Called a cheery voice from the other line.

"Yamcha hi!" Bulma brightened. It was good. "Well, two days'll do it huh? You sound as good as new!"

"Uh, yup! And you sound as good as ever Bulma!"

She blushed and threw a glance at the unfinished bot, frowning. The last thing she wanted was another tantrum from the local prince. "Err, look Yamcha, I hate to be rude, but make it quick, I'm in the middle of something."

"Oh no, don't worry, I won't keep you. At least not right now."

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"Well baby, tonight is our night! See, I really feel bad about breaking all those dates, so tonight, I'm making it all up to you!"

"What are you up to?"

"Well, all the places we were gonna go to all those other times, we're going to see tonight!"

Bulma's eyes lit up. "You're…you're KIDDING!"

"No, I'm not. You name it we'll see it. Promise!"

"Oh Yamcha thank you! I love you!"

"Ditto my sweet! So be ready for me at six, and wear something formal. We start with dinner and dancing at Sakura Grove!"

"Oh…wow…this is great! I'll see you then! Bye!"

"Bye Bulma." Click.

Bulma beeped her phone off and twirled around in the swivel chair. This was so great! A whole night of nothing but quality time with Yamcha! And Sakura Grove…this was so dreamy! Glancing at her watch, she found she had a good six hours to get ready. Just before she left the lab, she gave another glance at the training bot. She did hate to leave a job unfinished, and she'd promised Vegeta she'd have it ready today. And besides, five hours would still be enough time. "What's another hour?" she sighed, sat down again and began tinkering with the circuits. With a grin, she adjusted the power settings, inanely happy over her genius. She'd installed a few special chips into this model that responded to damage and could repair itself repeatedly. In the end, she decided she wouldn't tell Vegeta about this little addition. The surprise would hold better results in his workout, AND she wouldn't spend countless hours fixing the things! This was a bonus for both of them. And besides, she owed him a few "favors" lately.

Finally, the last unit clicked into place and the spherical bot began to buzz and hum. The red stand-by light glowed dully and blinked. Bulma grinned and stood up. "Battle bot, assume defensive/offensive exercise phase." At the sound of her voice, the bot's red light flashed and turned a bright green. Slowly it levitated and spun in the air. Excitement rushed through Bulma and she clasped her hands together. "Battle bot, assume sparring phase." Metal arms and legs sprouted from the spherical bot along with a sensory "head". With a loud giggle, Bulma clapped her hands and did a little dance. "Battle bot, retract and stand-by." With a small beep, the bot's arms and legs pulled back into the shell and the red light glowed. She picked it up and made her way out to the GR. "You'll be a perfect guinea pig Prince!"

The pink light glowed from within the huge sphere as she approached. Vegeta was more than pleased when they discovered the capsule could indeed withstand cold, but only for five hours at a time. Before she knocked, she peeked into the circular window. The Saiya-jin prince leapt through the air, blasting battle droids left and right. He moved so perfectly that she couldn't help staring for a moment. "Wow! He's really good! Good Kami, look at him!" she exclaimed to herself as he executed five perfect flip-flops across the floor, firing a flaming ball on landing. Sweat sheeted down the contours of his muscles, which looked like they would pop right out of his tanned skin. Despite all his work, he didn't even look tired. His intense eyes were everywhere at once. His squared jaw was set in determination and his perfect teeth were bared like an animal. "My Kami he's gorgeous!" She couldn't help saying. No sense in denying the truth.

Suddenly, his head whipped around to face her. She nearly jumped back in surprise as his wild black eyes pierced her. She pointed at the door, signaling him to open it. He gave a smirk and phased out. Bulma blinked in disbelief and shrieked when his face appeared before her through the window. Silent laughter poured from his mouth and he turned away. Bulma fumed. She went out of her way to build the damn bot and he didn't even bother with her! Well, she'd show him.

Vegeta leapt up to deliver a blast to the robot before him when all the light in the chamber disappeared. The difference in gravity caused him to slam into the ceiling. Groaning he fell to the floor, clutching the back of his head. His head whipped around to the window to see the onna's smirking face. In her hand, she twirled the extension cord to the GR. "Plug it in onna!" he snarled, then gave himself a mental kick. Of course she couldn't hear him. Her smile widened and she waved something round in her hand at him. For a second, he just stood in one spot glaring at her, then he went down to the door and opened it for her. Bulma entered and looked around, surprised with the amount of training robots that were still whole. He must've gotten a late start. She threw a glance at him, watching him breathe heavily, fascinated with the way his pectorals rippled beneath the bronze skin like a horse's. He noticed her staring eyes and smirked.

"Like what you see onna?" he asked, rolling his shoulders. She blinked a few times and gulped as the muscles rippled again from his movement. Then she shook her head, realizing she'd been staring.

"Hmph. I snort in your general direction. Here." She tossed the bot to him, which he caught effortlessly. Frowning, he turned it over in his hands.

"Mm, another little toy. How exciting."

"Looks can be deceiving Veggie boy. Give it a go, you might like it. Here." She retrieved the bot from him and pressed a little black button above the stand-by light. "Battle bot, add extra voice recognition sequence." She turned and whispered to Vegeta. "Say your name."

He stared at her a moment and shrugged. "Vegeta." The bot whirred and made a small beep. Bulma grinned at him.

"All right, it's all yours. This baby responds to all basic commands, goes up to ~ten~ levels, and has a few other…surprises, but I'll let you see those for yourself. Oh one more minute." She walked to the control console and leaned over to detach the main panel. "I'm gonna change the color of the light in here. Hand me that box of chips, the green ones."

Vegeta heard her, but didn't move to fetch her anything. He couldn't stop looking at the view her angle afforded him. She moved up a little to pull up the setting panel and his eyes focused on her rounded hips and never ending legs. He swallowed hard and felt the heat flush his face. {Keep it cool dammit! Look at something else! How about that err… robot she just… Kami-dammit WHY does she keep wearing such tight jeans!?}

"Hey, having trouble over there?" she asked, breaking him from his dilemma.

{You don't know the half of it onna.} He grumbled inwardly. "Err, no. Here." He shoved the box of chips into her hands and turned away. Bulma fished around in the box and pulled out three chips. Detaching the red chips from their position, she replaced them and pushed the panel back into place. "There. Green light's now."

"Why?" he asked, feeling rather disturbed at having stared at her for so long.

"Well, pink light is a strength depressant, so it might be slowing you down a bit. Green is a more aggressive color," she explained. Vegeta stared at her. Why was she being so nice to him? Maybe their conversation yesterday had earned him her respect. {Well good. That's how it should be.}

"Hmm, well, we'll see. That will be all onna," he said going for the controls. Bulma glared and almost said something but only sighed and turned away. He glanced over his shoulder watching her head for the door. "Wait!" He suddenly called out. Bulma whipped around surprised.

"What? What is it?"

Vegeta stared at her, trapped. He hadn't really meant to call out, but he'd been unable to stop himself. "I…er…thikou."

Bulma bit back a smile and approached him. "What???"

"I said…thakyoo…" he muttered a little louder. Bulma's smile broadened. She couldn't help herself.

"I didn't hear yooou…"

"THANK YOU!" He bellowed, his face turning crimson.

"You're welcome Veggie-chan!" she said sweetly, batting her navy lashes.

"Don't ever call me that onna!" he snarled shaking a fist at her. Bulma's eyes fell on the straining bicep, but she was too pleased with his discomfort to really ogle them.

"Ooh, his Majesty is touchy!" She grinned, poking him in the ribcage. He jumped away surprised.

{What's with her always touching me? And how come I LIKE it?!} He hoped she didn't know that it had tickled and covered with an annoyed snort. It was then that he noticed her staring at him strangely. "What now?" He frowned at her. She stared at him with intent and he began to feel very self-conscious under her unwavering crystal blue gaze. "What?" A thoughtful look crossed her brow and her lips pushed forward in a tiny pout. His black eyes fastened on the rosy-flesh and felt sweat beading on his brow. A familiar throb pounded in his chest as she raised a hand to his dark hair. {What the…hell?} Suddenly a twinge of pain went through his head and he winced, moving away from her. His glare burned as she twirled the strand of hair in her fingers.

"Nope, not blond yet!" She let out a less than lady-like laugh and headed for the door.

"Just make sure dinner's ready on time onna!" He shouted after her.

"Dinner! Right yeah!" She called shutting the door. She crossed to the generator and plugged the GR in again. A green glow fell over the stark white snow and she sighed as she opened the front door. {Back to the grind again! Jeez, doesn't he do anything but train and eat? Eat?!} "Oops! Kuso!" she swore suddenly. Dinner! She'd be out with Yamcha at dinner! If she got the dinner ready now, it would get cold, and if she prepared it after she got ready she ran the risk of getting dirty! She glanced around in oncoming panic. "What am I gonna dooo…" She moaned, sinking into a chair.

Then, as only a white light and a celestial choir could do it justice, she saw a miracle sitting on the coffee table. A newspaper, and not just that, the restaurant ad section! Beaming, she snatched it up and flipped through the numerous pages. Finally she found an ad for a gourmet takeout and grabbed the phone.

"Thank Kami for takeout," she grinned as she dialed.

Vegeta stumbled through the front door, much bruised and sweaty. He was surprised the sweat hadn't frozen onto his skin by now. He took a few steps and winced at the pain in his legs. Why hadn't that crazy woman TOLD him that the damn robot could regenerate itself? He recalled giving it a nasty blast, reducing it to a heap of scrap. He turned his back for a moment and heard the scraping of metal. He turned again and saw the bot fully repaired; not even a rivet was out of place. The damn thing wasted no time on sending an energy blast his way.

"Dammit onna," he rasped, feeling completely drained. "Are you trying to kill me?" He slumped onto the sofa, appreciative of its softness. For a while he lay on his back, just letting pain and exhaustion drag him further down into rest. Just before he drifted off, he felt something push through his lips. He recognized the unusual taste and let it slide down his throat. The last things he remembered were the relief flowing through his limbs and the taste of something foreign left on his lips.

Bulma stared down at the sleeping prince. He'd taken the Senzu quite naturally, as if expecting it. She'd just gotten out of the shower and saw him collapse on the couch. By the looks of him, he'd definitely needed that bean. That bot must have put him through the ring. She gazed at his face, for once not so severe as he slept. His brows were relaxed, his jaw for once not set like a lock. For no reason, her eyes trailed over his lips, where her fingers had grazed over only moments before. She had no idea they would be that soft and the memory of that made her blush. He was still shirtless and the sweat glistened off of his tanned skin, no longer mottled with bruises. With a sigh, she pulled the throw blanket over him as gently as she could. A smile flickered over his face and he seemed to sink further into the cushions. Bulma couldn't help smiling too. This was one of their few moments of peace together. She sank into an armchair and closed her eyes, letting thoughts spin inside her head. Somehow, nearly every one of them led her back to the slumbering prince on her sofa. He was such a mystery to her. One day they'd scream at each other, then they'd be sitting quietly watching TV. Then there'd be more screaming, and the very next day she was talking peacefully over hot cocoa with him. The things he'd revealed to her yesterday placed him into a different light than before. Now she was beginning to see past his rock hard exterior and detect a beating heart.

And he was letting her…

Still, for all he had let her into, she still found him as hard to read as ever. She still knew so little of him, and try as she might, she didn't fully understand him. No one really seemed to. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Vegeta truly understood himself.

The ring of the doorbell jarred her out of her musings. She whipped her head around instinctively to the clock, the towel flying off of her head. Four o'clock. Thank goodness it was just the food. She still had time. Before she reached the door, she glanced at the couch and stifled a laugh. The towel had landed on Vegeta's neck, making him look like he was in a barber's shop. She smiled and went to retrieve it. She had barely moved it when his hand whipped up and grabbed it. She jumped back with a yelp, fully expecting him to wake up. He only groaned and snuggled deeper into the cushions, holding the towel under his head like an extra pillow. Bulma gaped.

"Uhh, fine. Keep it," she breathed still a little surprised. The doorbell rang again, reminding her of the food. "Oops! Poor guys. Their arms must be breaking."

Ten minutes later, fifty-five enormous styro-foam boxes sat on the table. Bulma grinned. This was the best food in town and there was TONS of it! If this didn't get Vegeta off of her back for a while, nothing would. She glanced at the clock again and went back into her room to finish getting ready for her big night.

--

Vegeta stirred on the couch, his sleep finally beginning to wane. A sweet smell rose to his nostrils. He smiled sleepily and took a deep breath of it. He knew this scent well. It was the onna's vanilla shampoo mingling with the scent of her skin. Slowly his eyes opened and he saw the crumpled towel laying over the armrest. Still in the throes of his (for once) tranquil sleep, he took in the aroma again. He remembered this very same smell from the other day, when he "threatened" to bite her. It wasn't as if HE'D brought it up though. The last thing in this universe he wanted would be to mate with that wench.

Then, another scent, cut through the one wafting up from the towel. He smiled as his stomach croaked in response to it. "Onna!"

"What?" Bulma answered from the kitchen.

"Is that dinner?"

"Nope. It's breakfast. Of COURSE it's dinner!" She finished scooping the last of the food onto a big plate and admired her table spread. She'd managed to get ready with a bit of time to spare so she decided to serve out the food and get the trash out of the way. Satisfied, she stripped off her apron as Vegeta entered the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head.

"Well, for once it smells-" He cut himself off and stared in absolute wonder. If he didn't know better, he would have thought the apparition before him to be some kind of dream. But he was very much awake, and he finished his sentence with the only word in his reeling mind. "Gorgeous."

Bulma's eyes widened and she glanced down at her dress. Vegeta's eyes swept over the silver length of the kimono-style gown that cupped her every curve like a lover's touch, diving to a deep neckline that showed just enough creamy skin to intrigue. The way the light hit it, it had to be satin. Bright silver thread pictured blooming orchards and cranes that seemed to take flight from the shimmering fabric. The sleeves were long and flared demurely at the wrists. Her blue silken hair was piled into a delicate style, a few flowing curls framing her face. She took a timid step towards him and he saw one perfect leg protrude from the high slit, one tiny foot in a silver shoe. She looked into his face, her rosebud lips curling into a shy smile. Vegeta's heart stopped.

"Really?" She asked quietly, happy that he'd think to compliment her. "I look okay?"

The question took him by surprise. Never before had she ever needed approval for anything she wore? Was she blind? Had HE always been blind?

"Don't be dense onna," he answered, no malice in his voice at all. "'Okay' doesn't describe a thing about you." To anyone else, what he said might have seemed another taunt of his, but not to Bulma. She knew what he really meant.

"Uh, thank you," she said, not quite believing her ears. His manner was so sincere. She looked into his black eyes and saw the same foreign look she'd seen yesterday in the snow. She blushed hotly and tried to swallow past the thickness in her throat. It was then that she noticed that he was standing before her half-naked. His finely molded chest rose and fell rhythmically, almost brushing the soft material of her dress. She couldn't stop her eyes traveling down to the spandex hugging his lower region. What intrigued her the most was the rising bulge straining forward, threatening to brush her body. She soon found that she couldn't look away from it. Her chest throbbed with a heaviness she'd never felt before. It excited her, and it terrified her beyond reason. Summoning her deepest will, she lifted her eyes from him and took a small step away from his body. Silently, Vegeta thanked her for that. {Why the hell can't I control myself now?!}

"Uh, I hope that the, uh, dinner is good. Best food in town," she prattled nervously, gesturing to the table. She tried not to meet his eyes, which were still gazing appreciatively at her. "Um, I'm going out with Yamcha tonight. He's taking me dancing."

Vegeta stiffened at the sound of his name. Something burned in his chest and it made him cringe. "He doesn't deserve to escort you," he growled. Bulma opened her mouth to answer, but the doorbell silenced her.

"Oh, that's for me. Well, bye Vegeta. And uh, take it easy tonight. It's supposed to get pretty cold," Bulma said as she turned to go. Vegeta gently caught her satin-clad arm and she raised her eyes to his. Funny, they seemed brighter to him tonight.

"You just watch yourself onna," he said as if telling a secret. "I don't like that mate of yours."

Bulma gave him a small grin and shook her head. "He's not my 'mate'." The doorbell rang again and she turned away exiting the room. Vegeta heard the creak of the door and the sharp whistle coming from the baka behind it. He heard Bulma's musical laugh and a shouted "bye Vegeta" before the door slammed shut again.

'He's not my mate.' Her words echoed in his head. He grimaced and shook his head. If that was true, then why was she wasting her time? The onna could do SO much better than THAT little prick. That same burn entered his chest again, and he knew he couldn't dismiss it as hunger now. As much as he hated to admit it, it was jealousy. For the first time in his life, the Saiya-jin no Ouji was jealous of somebody who was a weakling. Unlike his envy towards Kakarrot, this was not a case of power. The case was the blue-haired onna this weakling escorted. An unspoken wish passed through his head; to dance again, just like back home. And to dance with her; to feel those curves crushed to him, to smell her hair all around him…

A growl escaped the throat of the aggravated Saiya-jin jarring him out of his brooding. Damn that wench! Damn her for making him get soft! He shouldn't be feeling this way! But just what was he feeling; this mixture of attraction, rage, jealousy and even lust…what the hell was it? It couldn't be love. He'd be damned before he'd let himself get that soft.

###########8D- YAY! Chapter 4's DONE!!! Read and review! Chapter 5 coming very soon!!!