"Fix it."
Bulma swirled around in her chair, lifting the goggles that had been protecting her eyes. Looking at Vegeta and then to two of her busted bots, she frowned. "What did you do?" She asked him, setting down the tools she was using. Her arms crossed over her chest, her face remaining unimpressed.
Vegeta almost looked offended, "What did I do? Your bots are the reason why they are broke. They couldn't keep up with my training."
She shook her head, "If you keep going all out on them, they're going to break." She explained to him. "Sometimes you have to learn how to hold back."
He frowned and dropped the bots to the floor. "Hold back? If I do that, how in the hell am I supposed to get stronger?"
She shrugged, "How am I supposed to know? Get beat up, heal after. Isn't that how it works?"
Vegeta scowled, "Maybe if I wanted to take a short cut." He then snorted, "As if something you created could actually bring me to the brink of death."
She returned the look, "They have before."
Hearing this did not go past him too well. "I will-!"
Bulma looked down at the bots, all broken in places she knew she'd have a hard time fixing. Tuning out his rage as he ranted about how strong he was, she rolled up to her bots. Picking one up, she looked at the damage. "This is going to take me a few days to fix," She cut in into his speech.
He followed her eyes, "Why? It's not even that bad."
"Says the guy who broke them again," She said in a sigh as she took them back to her desk. Dropping them to the side, she lowered her goggles back down. "Anything else I can help you with?" She asked as she turned her attention back to what was in front of her.
Vegeta only felt annoyed seeing she wasn't going to immediately work on the bots. What was more important for her to work on than something he needed? His eyes traveled to her desk, immediately seeing the small sparks from the tools she was using. His brow rose when he noticed what she was actually working on. Taking a few steps forward, his nose scrunched at the scouter. "Why are you wasting your time with that piece of junk?"
After Frieza's death, his following had disbanded. While most were like him, forced to work under his ruling fist, they had no reason to stay. Anyone who was actually close to the tyrant had been killed in battle with them. "No one will be on the other end."
Bulma nodded, "I know." She paused to look at her work. It was almost ready to be powered on again. "I'm trying to crack the technology so I can create something of my own. I can't be inspired if I can't even get it to turn on." She told him before continuing.
He watched her silently as she worked, not really understanding why she did what she did. His eyes then rested on the scouter, a frown forming. It was just another piece of history to remind him what he had gone through the last twenty some years of his life. If he was in his right mind, he would snatch the device from her and blast it to a million pieces. However, he could tell how hard she was working on it. She had that look of determination on her face that she had whenever she cared about a project.
"Eureka!"
The foreign word caught him off guard before he noticed the grin on her lips. He noticed the device was now turned on. He was a bit impressed she managed to crack something Frieza's scientist team had made.
Looking through the lense, she then sighed. "Now that it's fixed, I'm back to my original problem I had the last time this thing was working."
He crossed his arms, "Which is...?"
"I don't understand any of these symbols!" Setting the scouter down, she groaned as she ran her hand through her hair. She knew she was going to hit this wall eventually, she never really thought on how she was going to break through.
Vegeta looked at the scouter and then at her disheveled state. He didn't owe her a thing. Reaching forward, he grabbed the small device. Staring down at it, the temptation of breaking it crossed his mind once more. With a frown, he ignored her blue eyes looking at him in surprise as he put it on. While everything was foreign to her, he had seen the same image for years. Clicking the button on the side, it took him a minute before he handed it back to her.
Looking down at it in amazement, she put it on herself. Her brows shot up, "It has english as a setting?!" She clicked the button Vegeta had, getting so many more options she had just a moment ago. "Why?"
Vegeta scoffed, "Do you really think this planet is the only one who speaks your language? I can guarantee these planets surrounding this one share the same tongue as well." He explained to her with a huff.
Bulma smiled wide as she continued to play around with the scouter. "Thank you!"
He cringed at the appreciation, not being used to it. He could see how much happier she was now that he had done what he did. He didn't know if he wanted to hear her say those words. Turning his back to her, he clenched his fists. "Just hurry up and fix those damn bots!" He huffed at her.
Nodding, she grinned. "Sure thing!" She watched him storm out of her lab, her smile becoming softer. She couldn't believe he actually helped her out! She didn't even have to ask him! He did it by himself!
Setting the device down, she sat back in her chair happily. Looking out towards the window, she noticed how grayish it was out. The forecast had called for rain all day. One downside to summer ending, she now had to worry about the chilly weather autumn liked to bring.
Suddenly there was a buzz from her lab's phone, she raised a brow. Hitting a button, she continued leaning back in her chair. "What is it?"
The voice answering belonged to the receptionist on the first floor. "I'm sorry to bother you Ms. Briefs but you have a visitor. He seems pretty eager to you." She tried to explain in a hushed voice.
Bulma frowned, "Who is it?" She asked, a crawling feeling settling in.
"It's Yamcha."
Her eyes closed, a tight feeling rising in her chest. She knew this day had to come sooner or later. She had just hoped later would be the option. Much more later. Vegeta had helped her once, maybe he'd help her again. Of course she knew the other would try to kill him. While she might have been angry at Yamcha, she didn't want the guy to be dead.
"Ms. Briefs?"
She sat up in her chair, her good mood immediately extinguished. "Tell him to sit in the waiting room. I'll be down shortly." She told her before ending the call. She groaned loudly, her body wanting to fight her. She wanted to just hide away in her lab and not face what was to come. But then again, she was Bulma Briefs. She didn't run away from anything.
Getting up from her chair, she grabbed her jacket. Throwing it over her shoulders, she grabbed her umbrella. Facing the door, she found herself frowning. It was time to get this over with.
When Vegeta had left her lab, he was so distracted with that woman that he hadn't noticed a familiar ki nearing him. If he wasn't already frustrated, he definitely was now.
That weak bastard had come back. He came for her, that was obvious.
Once he reached the first floor, his suspicions were proved correct when seeing the other male. He immediately noticed the assortment of flowers in his hand. He scoffed at the sight. It was pitiful.
Yamcha had noticed him just as immediately, a matching expression on his own face. "Vegeta." The word came out full of hate.
Vegeta stopped, his eyes narrowing on him. "Weakling." He stared at the flowers, "You're wasting your time." He told him, his eyes going back forward. "She won't fall for your pathetic excuses and apologies." He told him before he continued walking, soon out of the building. He felt himself growing more agitated, even with the distance he was making from the building.
The fighter hadn't shown up for weeks, it would take an idiot not to notice. The woman at first was extremely affected by the loss. He remembered having to pick her up. She had been crying over that idiot. It was a waste of tears, if you asked him. She didn't look good with them.
Pausing his walk, he looked back for a moment. Knowing her, she was going to fall for his act all over again. Or maybe she'd cry all over again. He didn't want to see that idiot hanging around like before. He had actually enjoyed the silence. He also didn't want her to have any distractions. He wanted her time to be his. While he could always go to the old man about upgrades and challenges, the man didn't move like Bulma did. She was the only one he could actually tolerate.
That coward was going to ruin everything. A part of him wished he would have been the cause of his death, not the saibamen. However, the past was in the past. At this point, he could only hope the woman was as smart as she said she was.
Turning towards the house, he headed straight for that direction. He didn't want to think about it anymore.
Bulma however, had to deal with this head on.
Reaching the first floor, she immediately noticed Yamcha waiting in one of the chairs. She noticed his leg bouncing, most likely from impatience. She didn't exactly rush down here, had he expected her to? Her eyes lowered to the flowers he was holding, they were beautiful. On any other day, she would have been thrilled to receive them. It was like deja vu at this point. Rinse and repeat. Except she wasn't going to allow herself to fall for it. Walking towards him, she stopped a few feet away.
Finally noticing her, he immediately rose from his seat. "Babe! It's been so long!" He immediately noticed the loss of curls on her head. "You cut your hair? It looks... nice."
Bringing up the length of how long he ignored her, refusing to respond to her texts and voicemails was the perfect welcoming. "A few months." She answered, her arms crossing. "What can I do for you? My schedule is packed, you know, for being stuck in my lab all day." She added unamused.
His smile faulted for only a moment before he remembered the flowers. Holding the bouquet out, he took a step closer. "I got you some flowers, I know how much you love them." He realized she had not taken them, his shoulders fell. "Listen Babe-"
"Bulma," She corrected him, her face threatening to leave a permanent scowl.
He sighed, "Bulma. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten jealous over Vegeta. I know you would never do anything with him, he's the bad guy. I just got worried over nothing." He tried to explain. He rubbed the back of his neck, "I made a reservation for dinner for us. I hoped you could join me so we can just talk about everything."
She didn't want to hear him insult Vegeta or go to some fancy restaurant. Her grip on her umbrella tightened, her brows furrowing. "You can't just show up out of the blue like this after leaving for such a long time. Do you really expect me to forgive you just like that?"
Yamcha paused for a moment, "Yes?" Seeing her glare, he groaned. "It's always been just the two of us since we've been teenagers, can you really just walk away from that?" He asked her.
"You did that exact thing last time we spoke. You didn't seem to have too much hard of a time." Opening her umbrella, she rose it above her head. If he wanted to keep trying to convince her, he could follow her out in the rain.
Just as she expected, he followed right after her. "I made a mistake! I've realized that! Why else do you think I'm here?" He asked her, unbelieving that she was acting this way towards her. She should have melted at the flowers, giving him hugs and kisses as she told him how much she missed him. This was unlike her.
He was here to waste her time, that was obvious. "You should have realized that two months ago." She told him as she continued forward. She'd travel to her house, if he was still trying to persuade her by then, she'd tell him that he was wasting both of their time at that point.
Yamcha ignored the rain hitting against him, his patience growing thin. "Is there someone else? Is that it?"
She actually laughed, "Unlike you, I couldn't move on that fast."
He returned her frown, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I think you used your time on everything except what you should have been doing. You know? Training for when the end of the world comes around?" She told him, knowing full well how much he liked to flirt around when they were together. But it would be wrong of her to start accusing him of things.
Yamcha stopped, his brow furrowing. "You sound exactly like Vegeta. It's him isn't it? I was right to feel the way I did, didn't I?"
At the sound of the Saiyans' name, she immediately stopped as well. "What about him?"
Thunder boomed above them, lightening coating the sky. There showed no signs of this storm stopping.
"You slept with him, didnt you?"
Her face grew red at the suggestion. Rather than embarrassment, it was pure rage. What right did he have to suggest that? She could only imagine how many women Yamcha had been with while she had isolated herself from anyone who could have been his competition. While Yamcha ignored her, Vegeta was there.
He carried her home when she was a mess, and listened to her cry. He was actually interested in what she created. He managed to keep up a conversation in things she wanted to talk about. He was the complete opposite of Yamcha.
"So what if I have?" The lie slipped from her lips, his expression making it that much more worth it.
"You can't be serious! Did you just decide to forget about all of the horrible things he had done?" Yamcha exclaimed.
She continued walking, her pace quickening. "You don't know him like I do."
Yamcha threw his hands up, "What is there to know about him? He's evil!"
He used to be, she believed that. But now, she didn't think so any more. Now without someone to tell him to purge planets, she didn't think he was the same man as he once had been. Finally she had seen her house come in view. Almost there. "He's not a bad guy Yamcha, if you can't look past that, then there's nothing else here to talk about." Stopping at the steps that lead to her front door, she quickly turned to him.
"Yamcha, we're done, for good this time. Nothing you have to say will make me forgive you for what you have done." She looked at the flowers once more, "Give those to the last girl you messed around with. She'd enjoy them more than I would." Her frown increased, "Please leave and stay away. I don't want to see you." Turning back, she walked up the stairs but paused at the door. "If you have a problem with that, you can tell that to Vegeta." She told him before going inside, leaving her ex out in the rain.
Closing her umbrella, she set it against the wall to dry.
All the tension in her body suddenly released itself, leaving her feeling like a puddle of mess. Trudging her way through the house, she dragged herself up the stairs. She wanted to be alone for a while, while she had no plans on wasting any more tears over him, she still needed to get used to what would be her future.
As she walked, she noticed Vegeta's door was open. Passing by, she noticed he was laying on his back, eyes up on the ceiling. She stopped, her body leaning against the frame. "Sorry if you got to hear all that." She told him with a light smile.
He looked her way, his eyes rolling despite feeling the smallest amount of relief. "Go away."
Lifting off the frame, she shook her head with a growing smile. Immediately her brows rose, "Oh, before I forget. Incase Yamcha asks... I told him we had sex."
Vegeta immediately sat up, "You did what?!" What a foul, vulgar woman!
But she was already gone, slipping away in her own room. Stripping out of her wet pants, she tossed her coat to the side before landing face first onto her bed. Snuggling up to her pillows, she let out a long, drawn out sigh. She had enough of today, she was definitely ready for it to end.