Chapter 9

After a few hours Krillen and his date returned to the party to get some refreshments. Close behind him were Yamucha and Ami, walking hand in hand. Music still reached their ears through the air, pounding its base beat through their rattling teeth. As they entered Krillen shook his head when he saw the main buffet table littered with emptied trays and its white tablecloth half falling on the floor. Nearby, Goku lie on a large sectional flat on his back, snoring loudly. Curled up in his arms was Gohan, slumbering just as peacefully. "Like father like son," Krillen chuckled.

"Crap, there's nothing left," Yumi mumbled.

"Let's hit the bar," Yamucha whispered, tugging Ami's hand. She nodded, heading in the direction of the champagne.

"Oh there you are!" Bunny Briefs laughed from behind a huge stack of trays she carried. "I was wondering where you lovebirds popped off too…"

"Lovebirds, sheesh," Krillen chuckled awkwardly, shutting his eyes. "We were um… wondering if you saw Bulma and Vegeta come this way?"

"Oh those two? They headed off to the hanger together. Bulma said something about helping the young man fix his ship…"

"Oh, okay… well at least that seems normal… but what doesn't seem normal is that they went willingly," Krillen said.

"I dunno if I'm nuts about her with that dude, but hey, if she likes him…" Yumi shrugged. "Have they been gone long?"

"The past few hours," Chichi announced, carrying another stack of trays in her arms effortlessly. "I sure hope she knows what she's doing. I don't trust that Vegeta at all!"

"He's not THAT bad… I mean yeah he's not that GOOD, but he hasn't killed Bulma yet, right?" Krillen said. He sounded way more confident than he actually felt.

"You guys are still nuts thinking you can let those two along together," Yamucha snorted as he stormed up, with Ami close behind him.

"Give it a REST already, dude!" Yumi groaned. "She's not interested in you, brightbuns. It's over…"

"That's NOT what I mean…" Yamucha spluttered, wheeling on her. However the bright red blush spreading over his cheeks said otherwise.

"Relax, you really should have another beer," Bunny chirped. "I'm sure we still have some left…"

"Um, where is everyone?"

"Most of the guests went home already," Chichi shrugged. "Oolong and Master Roshi said they had to go, and well, they assumed you two would be staying the night here…"

"Rats… there goes my ride," Krillen said.

"The more the merrier… I have guestrooms all ready for everyone…" Bunny said. "I programmed the servo bots in advance... I knew some of Bulma's little friends would be staying…"

"Little friends?" Yumi said, hiking a purple brow.

"The usual room?" asked Ami.

"Oh yes… the girls can stay in the two rooms on the right of the head of the stairs, and you two gentlemen can have the rooms down the hall from Bulma's… Yamucha, you know the way, right, young man?"

"Well yes… but I could stay in the guest annex…"

"Don't be silly! All your things are still in your usual room," Bunny said. Yamucha turned brighter red, then quickly grabbed Ami's hand and led her upstairs.

"I'll show you to your room… this way girls…" he said quickly, waving to Krillen and his date as well. "Um Chichi, tell Goku we said goodnight, unless you're staying here too…"

"We have plenty of room," said Bunny.

"Oh no, that's all right… we'll just hop Nimbus for a ride back in no time… don't put yourself out," Chichi said. "You've been MORE than hospitable… especially with the extra food…"

Chichi and Bunny carried the piles of empty trays towards the kitchen, following the caterers who were cleaning things up. Piccolo stood in a far corner watching everyone. Yamucha and Ami walked quietly into the room, hand in hand with blushes on their faces. Without watching Piccolo they crept lightly up the stairs. Krillen shrugged at the Namekian, who narrowed his eyes.

"Just be careful you two," Piccolo grunted. "Behave yourselves. We don't want any problems… any MORE problems."

"It's cool, plant man," Yumi grinned.

"My name is Piccolo, girl. Please use it," Piccolo corrected her, giving her a glare from under the turban perched on his large head. Muscles bulged under green skin, causing Yumi to stare a few seconds longer than she normally would of for a strange looking guy.

"Uh sure… yeah…" she chuckled, unable to tear her gaze away from how sexy he appeared, for a vegetable man.

"This way," Krillen urged, tugging her hand gently. Still undressing the Namekian with her eyes, she allowed Krillen to drag her upstairs.

"Humans," Piccolo shook his head.

Morning broke over the Capsule Corps mansion. Gohan and Chichi had left the night before after the party had wound down. Piccolo had joined the rest of the Namekians in the large courtyard complexes constructed as their temporary housing. As she had for many mornings before, Bunny Briefs got up at the crack of dawn, slipping out of her bed to dress and start breakfast.

"Honey!" Dr. Briefs grinned as he sat up in bed. "Good to see you…"

"When did you get in?" Bunny yelped as he gave her backside a little swat. "You didn't even wake me up to greet me…"

"Well I hate waking you when you're fast asleep," Dr. Briefs said, leaning down to pick up his pet cat that bumped its nose under his hand. He draped the kitty around his shoulders, and climbed out of bed. Just how his wife managed to dress and have her hair perfect before he rose was one of those secrets of the universe he left unanswered. Especially since he was starving and they'd need all their strength to put up with the daily verbal battle they were about to face.

"I'll bring up your coffee here dear… if you'd like…" said Bunny, tying an apron around her hips.

"No, I'll be down soon. How did the party go? I see the bots managed to clean most of it up… and I heard some major snoring when I came in late last night…"

"Yamucha and Krillen spent the night, as did Bulma's little friends… but I'm letting the poor dears sleep in… they had a bit too much medicine last night…" Bunny laughed as she exited the room.

"Sounds like I missed some fun," Dr. Briefs shrugged. "Oh… by the way, I didn't notice anyone screaming 'Woman' at the crack of dawn… is that young man actually sleeping in?"

"Well I did see him walk off with our little princess to the lab…"

"Did you now? Has her bed been slept in?" asked Dr. Briefs.

"Honey, let's wait till after breakfast to ask," Bunny suggested, exiting the room.

Bulma grumbled and turned over in her sleep. She could swear something was missing. First, she missed someone screaming "Woman, get me breakfast" at the top of his lungs through the whole house. Secondly, she felt as if her bed was somehow wrong, because she was curled up and facing a wall, while trying to stop from pitching over the edge of the small bed.

"I have a full size bed… what the hell," she wondered, turning over. Rough cloth registered against her fingers when she gripped the covers, and did not recognize anything resembling the fluffy comforter. Rather rough wool from a surplus army blanket. She smelled the sterile crisp air of a laboratory, and heard a faint humming of a generator pulsing like a lullaby. As her sense of touch came into awareness Bulma felt soft cotton of a T shirt instead of warm silk covering her body.

"Must have slept in the lab again… but who put me to bed?" she wondered, blinking.

"Wake up…" purred a deep voice that sent shivers down Bulma's spine. She mumbled at the soft warm breath puffing against her ear. For a moment she did not recognize the male presence she felt just behind her. A hand shook her shoulder lightly, but the flat surface on which she lay felt too comfortable. It was the cot in her lab, she remembered. Whenever she was working night and day on a project, she would curl up on the small camping bed and wrap the old green wool blanket around her to sleep. Strangely she slept better in the lab than in her bed lately.

"Go away, just five more minutes dad," she mumbled, batting the hand away.

Fingers lightly jabbed Bulma in her ribs. "Woman, wake up, you've been sleeping too damn long… you've got work to do!"

"Mmm," Bulma grumbled. She blinked up into two dark eyes glinting with amusement at her. Clutching the blanket she yelped when she recognized their amused owner smirking at her. Clad in gleaming white breastplate overtop blue spandex bodysuit, Vegeta hunched over Bulma.

"About time you moved those lazy bones, woman," he said. "Wake up already… your baka mother is hurting my ears with that shrilling voice of hers, and I'm damned if I'm eating in the same room with those weakling losers…"

"So what do you want ME to do about it! Ack, don't tell me you let me sleep in HERE! I look DISGUSTING."

"So what Woman, you ALWAYS look disgusting," Vegeta shrugged. She screamed in outrage, pouncing on him. For a moment she forgot that she was dealing with one of the strongest fighters in the Western Galaxy next to Goku.

"Shut up ass, I do NOT!" she squealed, beating at his chest. Vegeta laughed in amusement, catching hold of both her wrists in turn.

"Feisty, aren't we? You're not dealing with your baka human weakling ex mate…" Vegeta chortled. "Lucky for you I'm in a good mood, or you'd be executed for attacking the Prince of Saiyans royal person…"

"Ugh… Excuse me your royal whyness for forgetting…" she groaned, flopping back on the bed once Vegeta released her wrists.

"Get that ass of yours up and get me some breakfast… and yourself some if you don't' want to pass out… thankfully this time I don't have to eat your vile cooking…" he teased.

"I'm going, I'm going… damn… you're such a frickin' SLAVEDRIVER," she grumbled, brushing past him. Still wearing her coveralls she marched out of the workshop with Vegeta following closely behind her.

"March… one two, one two…"

"And where are YOU going? Making ME go get your lazy ass breakfast when you're RIGHT behind me?" she growled at him.

"Don't ask stupid questions, just move it… I'm hungry!" he laughed, swatting her behind.

"Ouch!" she squealed. Bulma broke into a run, with the Saiyajin prince in hot pursuit. Vegeta chased her from the laboratory through the long Capsule Corps hallways. She dodged his white gloved hands reaching out to snatch her up or smack her backside.

"You can't get away from me that easily, woman…" Vegeta taunted.

"Says you… what the hell's gotten into you, Vegetable brains?"

"You should mind your place," Vegeta grunted, reaching down and sweeping her up.

"Put me down! This is getting old! You Neanderthal!"

"You run too slow, wench," Vegeta commented. He carried her the rest of the way through the living room, with Bulma pounding on the hard white surface of his armor.

"Hey, I made you that armor and I can break it!" she squealed, then shook her bruised hand. "Ouch!"

"I'm not the stupid female fighting a losing battle," Vegeta smirked. "Who do you think you're dealing with? Mind your manners or no breakfast for you!"

"Shut up… I thought you couldn't STAND to be around me, and now you're hauling me around!"

"Does the woman think that she can order me around, neh?" Vegeta chuckled, swinging her around his head so she squealed at the room spinning. "Should have thought of this before…"

"I'm gonna puke…" she warned.

"Stop it…" Bulma whined as he approached the kitchen. He stopped momentarily to sniff the aroma of crackling bacon. A high pitched titter assaulted his ears, telling him that the woman's mother was fussing over a stove. Peering inside he saw the blonde mother unit clanging pots and pans in a morning symphony. Four places were set at the small table, Vegeta noticed. Already she was singing in that nauseatingly high pitched voice like a marshmallow soaked in honey.

"Pathetic," Vegeta grumbled. "But at least she knows how to treat royalty. Take a good look woman… you could learn something from your otherwise crazy mother… she may be nuts but she DOES have the necessary knowledge approaching proper royal protocol."