Chapter 3

Nightfall had struck in West City. Everything was calm, the crickets were composing their usual evening melody, the stars were shining bright like diamonds against the velvety black sky and the Capsule Corp grounds were still and peaceful.

Well, almost.

"Why isn't this coming together?!" Bulma shouted to herself. "I don't understand how I, Bulma fucking Briefs can't figure out a basic physics equation! Even a monkey could figure this shit out!", She growled out.

Speaking of monkeys….

She couldn't believe that it had been three days since she last saw Vegeta. In the morning, he was already in the gravity room before she woke up and she was already asleep by the time he retired to his room. She didn't even see him when it was breakfast, lunch or dinner time. The only way she knew that he was still alive was hearing the hum of the gravity machine during the day, although sometimes it was off more than it was on. Strange.

'You'd think I would see him after seventy two hours. Smell him even. And yet he's as silent as a ghost, only letting his presence be felt if he wants it to be felt. I guess that makes sense considering he's a career assassin and everything.'

She sighed tiredly and walked to the coffee maker, made herself a strong cup and went back to her work station. There was something else that was bothering her a bit more than the Prince's not-so MIA status.

Bulma was worried that her relationship with Yamcha was coming to a standstill. They've been together for fifteen years but for about three of those fifteen they've been broken up more than they've been together. When they do inevitably get back together everything's perfect in the beginning. It always is. But then after a few weeks they get comfortable and eventually fall back into their routine relationship. Then one day a fight between them ensues over something stupid or irrelevant and then they break up again. A decade and a half of wash, rinse and repeat. It was boring.

Even when she was still at the tender of five, Bulma knew that she was not an idle soul. She craved adventure, spontaneity, excitement for Kami's sake! And Yamcha was exciting when they first met. He had oozed danger, had a serious bad boy vibe about him and like a moth to a flame she couldn't stay away from him. If Bulma had to compare her boyfriend from fifteen years ago to now, she'd swear they were two different people.

If she was being honest, she knew their relationship had become monotonous for a while now. But she's always managed to push those negative feelings to the side and tried to keep the spark between them alive. These days, however, it's becoming impossible to ignore.

'It's all because of that dream I had the night before Vegeta came back", she thought toherself. "After it happened, something changed, like a shift of some sort. I don't know if I'd say I had a sense of foreboding. More like anticipation. But for what?' Bulma frowned uneasily. She wasn't sure what it was but that was a question she didn't need answered. As far as she was concerned, it was just a dream and nothing else.

She was so engaged in her mental conversation that as she reached for a pencil to finish her upgrades for the gravity room, she knocked her coffee cup over, spilling the contents all over her work right before it crashed to the ground.

"NO!" She whipped the plans away hastily to try and save them. Unfortunately it was too little too late. They were ruined and they'd have to be redrawn. Just her luck.

"This is what happens when you don't keep your head in the game! I let my thoughts stray and what's the result?! A day's worth of work ruined in two fucking minutes!" It was safe to say that Bulma was not a happy camper. She'd foregone using a dustpan and brush and opted to pick them up by hand. In her irritation at herself for getting distracted, she roughly grabbed a very sharp edged piece of glass.

"SON OF A BITCH! REALLY?!" She opened her injured hand and watched as a steady flow of blood oozed out of a deep gash in her palm. She absolutely hated the sight of blood, especially if it was her own. Could this night get any worse?

Bulma got her answer when she felt her hackles rise on the back of her neck. She made sure to hide her hand as she quickly turned to face the last person she expected to see at that moment. Vegeta.

Vegeta had just turned the corner of the hallway that led to the lab when he heard a small crash followed by the woman's shouts of despair and screeches of anger. He chuckled when he heard her throw profanities at nobody. For such a petite woman with an innocent visage, her vulgarity is enough to make some of Frieza's foot soldiers blush in embarrassment.

The lab's automatic doors slid open and Vegeta stepped inside to find Bulma standing with her back towards him, holding her injured hand in the other. She was grumbling about something under her breath. He would've heard what it was if something else hadn't grabbed his attention.

His preternatural sense of smell caught the scent of the woman's blood. Her usual scent was enough to throw him off his balance. Her blood however was a different story. He took a deep breath, taking in its sweet aroma. It called to something deep inside of him. If he listened close enough, he could hear the howl of the Oozaru demanding he claim this woman right now, damn the consequences. He fisted his hands, trying to maintain control over his ancestral nature. It was too soon to act on his instincts. Timing was everything.

But that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun while he waited.

The woman must have sensed she was being watched because she abruptly turned to face him. He noticed that she was hiding her hand behind her, hoping he wouldn't notice that she'd managed to hurt herself. He decided to pretend like he hadn't….for the time being. Just as he was about to demand what she was doing, she beat him to the punch.

"Well well well. Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence! What the hell are you even doing standing behind me in silence like some sort of stalker?! What do you want?!" Her sapphire eyes were scorching him where he stood. If looks could kill….

While Vegeta was grateful she mistook his reaction to her by assuming he was acting like some kind of lecher, he knew why she was lashing out and it had nothing to do with her still hidden hand. Right then, he decided to get the ball rolling with his plan. He chose to play her little game for now. He slowly stalked towards her as he spoke. "Well woman, if you must know, the control unit of your inferior machine shorted out and I demand that you fix it immediately! I have to train to my limits in order to become a super saiyan and I refuse to be hindered by outdated technology!"

Oh that did it.

"EXCUSE ME?!" She angrily cried out. Her reaction was nothing short of perfect. "Listen here Prince of one and a half Saiyans! Nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever addresses me in that manner! I'm Bulma Briefs! The most beautiful and intelligent woman on this fucking planet and if you think that you can speak to me like that then-"

He tuned her out as she kept speaking, inching closer and closer to her. He was more interested in her body language. While her words were meant to hold him off, her body told him something else. Her eyes, while they were spitting blue flames at him, were dilated with anger and lust. A heady combination. Her cheeks and neck were flushed red while her chest heaved as she continued to rant.

Vegeta couldn't help but wonder how all of this would look in a different situation. He imagined her in his bed, legs wrapped around his waist, cheeks as flushed as they are now and her chest heaving as she gasped in deep breaths while he worked to get her to scream his name into the night sky. One day…

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" She shouted. "Of course not woman. I couldn't stand to listen to you rant about yourself any longer than I had to so I just stopped." He smirked lightly as he said, "Honestly, I don't know how your pathetic mate puts up with you and your gloating. I'd say he's strong for putting up with but that's a joke all on it's own."

She must have reached her limit because the next thing he knew…

WHACK!

She slapped him across his face. In fact she did it so hard his head turned to the side. He was mildly impressed, she had more strength in her than he originally thought. Vegeta slowly turned his head to face her again. Bulma was shocked by what she'd done but she stood tall, refusing to show her fear even though she knew he could snap her in half with his thoughts alone.

He gave her a small smile, which put her even more on edge, and got so close to her that their bodies were only a hair's width apart. He bent his head slightly to put his lips to her ear and whispered huskily, "You get one of those, Bulma." He felt her small shiver when he spoke. She didn't expect him to use her name when talking to her. He looked down and saw the pulse in her neck racing. Vegeta could almost taste her arousal in the air around them, it was so potent. He got what he came here for.

He schooled his features into a blank mask as he pulled away and looked at her. "Hurry up with the repairs woman." He swiveled around and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, he turned his head slightly towards her and with a mocking smirk said, "By the way woman, you might want to get that hand checked out. We wouldn't want you to get an infection now would we?" He chuckled as he walked away. He was correct in his guess that the woman was just as affected by him as he was by her. Now the real fun could begin.

What. The hell. Was that all about?

Bulma stared at the door Vegeta had just walked out of in stunned silence. The nerve of that egotistical jerk! Demanding repairs from her like she was his servant or something!

She looked to the ruined plans sitting on her desk. She was so tempted to forget about upgrading the gravity room and just leave him to wallow in his self-imposed misery. It would serve him right!

But… If she did that, then he would come back here making even more ludicrous demands. That wasn't her main concern though. Bulma thought back to her reaction to his close proximity when he caged her against her desk. She could feel his contained strength pouring out of him in waves, his aura radiated danger. He reminded her of a sleek jungle cat with his grace and his savage nature. Kami help her, she liked it. A lot.

This was bad. Very bad.

She couldn't be attracted to Vegeta. He was all wrong for her. She knew she was attracted to bad boys but this was ridiculous. Vegeta didn't qualify as a 'bad boy' anyway. He was too intense for that label. No, he was….

A paradox. One that she wanted to figure out. Crap.

She had to keep her distance from him. She refused to go that far with Vegeta of all people. If anything, this incident just motivated her to mend her relationship with Yamcha even more. No way she was going to throw fifteen years of love and commitment away for twenty minutes of fun. Forget it.

With that resolve, Bulma cleaned up the rest of the broken cup. She tossed her plans in the trash, deciding to try again later and left the lab. Tomorrow was another day

Author's Note: And another down, and another down. Another bites the dust! That's chapter 3 ladies and gentlemen. This is too much fun to write. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. Shout out to Beaglinda and Khloe for your reviews. You guys make it worth it. Please RR. Until next time!