Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else so give the credit and flames where they're due. Thanks very much for reading and please review because I'd love to hear from you.

From Suggestive to Caring

"You're so annoying!" Bulma practically snarled when he just continued to grin at her. This was what happened when you spent your formative teen years around Yamcha and Goku, Bulma thought bitterly. You got out of practice dealing with people as smart as you were. Not that it was really surprising that he was better at verbally sparring with her than she was with him. He'd spent his whole life pissing people off after all, likely on purpose too. She at least tried to get along with other people.

"So answer my question, woman." Was his smirking reply.

"Your arms have to get tired sometime." Oh who was she kidding, he could probably hold her up till the end of time and not even feel a twinge in those rippling biceps. Rippling biceps..yummy. Damn hormone overloads, Bulma thought bitterly, refusing to give into the urge to punch him in the shoulder. The last thing she needed was broken fingers on top of everything else. She needed a different approach. "And you're missing valuable training time." She added with definite satisfaction after thinking for a moment.

"You'll get bored enough to tell me before I have to get back to my training." So this was incredibly stupid and childish of him, so what? He had her ass in his hands for the first time in months and she was practically plastered against him. It was like being presented with a banquet after months of bread and water. As long as he limited himself to this, when there was no reason for her to suspect his real motive, it was okay. He'd put her down in a moment, but for these precious seconds he'd savor the feel and scent of her. Both had haunted him for so long.

Tapping her fingers impatiently on his broad shoulders Bulma gave a moments thought to boxing his ears seeing as they were right in front of her. You didn't need strength, just viciousness to do it. She was definitely feeling pissed off enough to attempt it. He'd drop her though and she really didn't want to risk that, even though she was pretty sure a short fall like that wouldn't do any real harm. Besides, instead of dropping her he might do something worse, like breaking all her machines at once or something equally annoying and time consuming. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were doing this just so that you could grab my ass." Bulma muttered, unaware for the moment that she'd hit the nail on the head.

"There's certainly more of it then there's been for a while."

"You really want me to try and kill you, don't you?"

Rolling his eyes at the daggers she was shooting out of her fiery eyes Vegeta could only marvel at the woman's preoccupation with her ass. It really was mind boggling. "If you don't tell me I'm going to drop you on said ass." He replied, instead of making a crack about her obsession with her ass. He knew from experience that wouldn't end well.

"You wouldn't dare."

Pretending to let go Vegeta was rewarded as she let out a gasp while she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her legs coming around his waist in a vise tight hold. "Now will you tell me?" He whispered into her ear as she muttered curses under her breath. She really did have the most interesting way with words, he thought in amusement.

"Bastard." Was her hissed response as she loosened her grip. Unfortunately he'd returned his hands to her ass which meant that even if she let go of him she wasn't getting down until he was damn well ready. It wasn't like an elbow to the gut would faze him in the slightest. "You don't even care about the answer to the damn question!"

"How do you know? You're always saying I should take more of an interest in human culture." Vegeta pointed out, though she was once again pretty damn close to the mark. Yes he was curious about this whole bases thing but he was doing this more for the physical contact and to annoy her. He knew she'd figure it out.

"Yeah, and this isn't you taking an interest in my planet, pal. This is you wanting to watch me squirm."

And how he did love her squirming, Vegeta thought, though he was pretty sure they weren't thinking about the same sort of squirming. "Would I do that?"

"Hell yes!" Bulma fumed, hating more than anything when he deliberately tried for an innocent tone, just to make it that much more obvious that what he was saying was sarcastic. "Put me down gently, on my feet, or I'll...I'll...damn it." She couldn't even draw blood if she bit him. She couldn't bust his eardrum if she screamed into it and any blows she might magically land would hurt her more than him. What could she do, dammit?

To her utter shock he removed his hands, so that it was only her own arms and legs that were keeping her against him. Letting go she slid down, landing on her feet slowly as she stared up in him in shock. "Something wrong, woman? This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Vegeta asked, even though he was well aware of why she was staring at him with such a surprised look on her face. She hadn't expected him to give up.

"And since when has what I wanted matter to you?" Was her hot response as her look of confusion turned to a glare, her hands naturally going to her hips.

"You have no idea."

Blinking Bulma stared at him, watching him turn and give her his back as he started to walk across the room towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" She demanded to know, unable to think of anything else to say. Too much of her brain was concentrating on trying to figure out just what he'd meant by that comment. She was so peeved she couldn't even see straight!

Vegeta ignored her since he didn't actually have a destination in mind and saw no reason to lie to her or become obligated to do something just to fit his excuse. It was laughable really, but he, the great Saiyan warrior, was actually running away from her, a weak, human female. But at times like this, it was all he could do. Since he'd found out she was with child, he'd even done his best to not pick fights with her. That was failing miserably of course because no one pushed their buttons the way the other did. But he was trying. And as lowering as it was to walk away, there was nothing else he could do. She was right. Where she was concerned, he had a conscience however small. And staying any longer in her company would not end well.

Stalking after him it only took a few steps for Bulma to realize that it wasn't being pissed off that was affecting her vision. Weaving slightly, like a tipsy drinker on the way to being drunk Bulma stopped and swayed, hating to ask but knowing she had to. "Vegeta...would you help me sit down before you go?"

"What?" Turning around Vegeta took one look at her pale face and was back at her side in a moment, his hands on her waist as he demanded to know what was wrong.

"Just a little dizzy." Putting her hands on his strong shoulders for support Bulma lowered her head as she concentrated on her breathing. "I was too nervous to eat, that's probably it. I'll go make myself something once my head stops spinning."

"Idiot woman." Rather then helping her to the floor as she'd asked he easily swung her up into his arms and cradling her gently against his chest carried her out of the room and since it was the closest room with a bed headed for his own room. Depositing her on the bed as carefully as possible he towered over her as he gave her one of his 'don't even think about arguing with me' looks. "Stay there. If you get up you're going to regret it."

Watching him leave Bulma didn't quite know what to think as she rested her head back, against his pillow. Well that had certainly been unexpected. Hell, she was surprised he'd even bothered to turn around and help her. Now here she was, in his room, laying on his bed with him off doing lord only knows what. He was coming back, or at least he better or she was going to have to risk that whole punishment thing to get something to eat. She was hungry. Turning onto her side Bulma nuzzled her face against the pillow, breathing in his scent. He'd probably think she was nuts if she ever told him that she liked and was comforted by his scent. She thought she was nuts to think that way. Come to think of it, this was the first time she'd been in his room since they'd had that big fight after Valentines Day. When everything had gone to hell in the blink of an eye. No one quite did major blow ups the way they did, Bulma thought with a wry smile on her face. It was probably a good thing that they'd broken up, other wise they'd have had a lot more to fight about right now. As it was, they couldn't go an hour without finding something to bitch about. Just think how much worse it would be if they were actually legally bound to each other.

The question of just what Vegeta was up to was answered a few minutes later when he came back into the room with a tray in hand. Blinking Bulma sat up to stare at the messily made pile of peanut butter and banana sandwiches with a large glass of milk beside them. Tipping her head back to stare at his scowling face Bulma couldn't help but ask the obvious. "Is this for me?"

"Have you ever seen me show a liking to this disgusting combination?"

"No." Was her slow response. "It's what I've been eating constantly because it's what baby wants to eat."

"No child of mine would possibly want to eat that." Vegeta stated as he set the tray on his bedside table with a slight thud. "You're just using him as an excuse to justify eating it."

"There's nothing wrong with peanut butter and banana sandwiches." Bulma muttered, reaching over to grab the first sandwich, noting with a slight smile that he'd made her four sandwiches which was just crazy because even if she'd been starving she wouldn't have been able to eat so many. Just because she was eating for two didn't mean she had the appetite of two people. Two was going to do her. He was the one that went through food like a starved maniac.

"Just shut up and eat. It was bad enough I had to make it." He was about to continue on that tangent when he saw that there were tears in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she stared up at him with one of the sandwiches clenched in her hands. "Why are you crying!" Instinctively backing up Vegeta looked at her like she was a bomb about to explode.

"You...you made me sandwiches!" Bulma choked out, the tears coming fast and steady now as she stared up at him, those blue eyes of hers shimmering with emotion.

"So?" She hadn't even taken a bite yet, how could they be making her cry when she hadn't even tasted one yet? Besides, how the hell could he have possibly screwed up the sandwiches when all he'd had to do was slather peanut butter on a piece of bread and put slices of banana on top? Even someone as simple minded as Yamcha could do that.

"You...you..you won't even make a sandwich for yourself!" Setting the sandwich back down on the tray Bulma wiped the tears roughly away with the back of her hand, unsuccessfully trying to stop the tears from flowing. It was just that he'd actually gone to the trouble of making her some lunch when he bitched about having to dial a number to call for take out. So it was stupid and not worth crying over but her stupid hormones were out of whack and it was just so nice of him, so out of character. He'd done something for her without being asked, out of concern for her well being. Just the thought had her bawling all over again so that she was practically sobbing her eyes out.

"You're crying because I made a sandwich which I wouldn't normally do." Okay, she'd gone emotional over some pretty stupid things over the years but this definitely took the prize. He was never going to understand her even if they were stuck together for the next thousand years.

"No, you don't...nevermind." Bulma sniffed, rubbing her eyes again. "It's just my hormones going whacky on me. Sorry about this."

"Your mom did mention something about that." Of course the silly woman had also said she'd had major cravings for mint ice cream late at night with caramel sauce on top when she'd been pregnant with Bulma. That he was definitely not going to make. Ever. The thought alone was enough to turn his stomach.

"I'll be fine." Bulma assured him, smiling at him brilliantly through her tears. "Thanks, Vegeta. Thanks for the sandwiches."

"You're welcome."

Needless to say Vegeta didn't make it a habit of catering to Bulma as the pregnancy went on and the baby grew causing her stomach to grow and round out. At the most he was a little more considerate about waiting for his equipment to be repaired but that was about it when you got right down to it. He left the extreme babying to her parents and stayed out of her way unless she sought him out about something which was more and more often as the pregnancy progressed. Her parents though, had experience in these sorts of things and to be frank, he couldn't stand to be in the same room when the two women were discussing the horrors of pregnancy and labor. Her father joined him in retreating from the room immediately whenever the subject was brought up. According to Doctor Briefs he should be very thankful that Bulma didn't want him in the delivery room. Mrs. Briefs thought he should be but Vegeta had been quick to point out that since Bulma was the one who was going to have to go through labor she should at least be able to decide who was in the room. He sure didn't want to be.

The doctor had been surprised by how fast the baby was developing but Bulma opted not to mention the fact that the baby's mixed blood might have something to do with that. A couple weeks after the sandwich incident Bulma was starting to feel flutters in her stomach, her baby starting to explore his surroundings with his hands and feet. It was a weird feeling, not to mention the fact that the faint flutters came out of nowhere, often surprising her unexpectedly. So far they hadn't become frequent enough that she'd rushed to put someone's hand on her stomach to feel. Like his or her father this baby liked to keep you guessing and especially liked to do the good old flutter and stop. It had also been an interesting experience to go shopping, having to rethink all her sizes for the first time in a long time. Since she'd always preferred close fitting clothing she'd outgrown a lot of her clothing pretty quickly, much to her dismay. Luckily she loved shopping almost as much as she loved being an expecting mother and needless to say all the stores were very glad to see her as she blew more and more money on clothes as she grew out of her old ones. Thanks to her current condition all the top quality baby stores in the city now knew her on sight too and were just as happy to see her as she blew even more outrageous sums of money as she prepared for her baby's arrival. On these occasions she even sometimes got Vegeta to come because as she pointed out, who knew what sort of girlie stuff she'd buy for his son or daughter if he wasn't there to supervise.

"This is the one." Bulma pointed, turning to look at Vegeta expectedly. "Wait till you see this cradle, Vegeta. It's absolutely perfect for the nursery."

"That's what you said about the last five cradles you ordered and then returned, woman." Was his sarcastic reply as he pulled into a parking spot a short distance from the store she'd pointed out. Thanks to her he probably knew just about every outlet that sold things for children in this whole damn city. "And I don't see why I have to come."

"You had to come because you took one look at the last cradle I bought and said your child was going to sleep in it over your dead body." Bulma reminded him as she undid her seat belt, reaching for the door handle to open her door. "You're here so that I don't have to send this one back if you hate it."

"I had no problem with the other four." Vegeta reminded her as he got out of his side and walking around the car went to her side to help her out since she was starting to have problems doing that with anything resembling grace. It was sorta funny to watch, Vegeta thought as he took her arm and held it steady until she was standing on the sidewalk. Letting her go he pressed the button to lock the doors before turning his attention back to her. She really did look like she'd swallowed a small watermelon whole.

"There were very good reasons why I sent those back." Pouting Bulma deliberately slid her arm into his, just to irritate him.

Looking pointedly at her arm in his Vegeta sent her a dark look. She knew perfectly well he hated shows of affection, especially in public.

"Don't look at me like that, I can't help it." Bulma fibbed, her pout growing under his dark look. "I read it in a book. Pregnant women have an instinctive need to have their men around them when they're pregnant because in more primitive times they depended on their men to keep them safe. I mean it's not like I'm in any condition to run away or fight off an attacker, right? Sure you're not my man but you're the closest thing I've got to one at the moment." When lying, it was always good to back it up with the truth. It was nice to have him there, just in case. The fact that that was just a bonus to go with her real reason was something he didn't need to know. Besides, he wasn't trying to pull his arm away as they walked down the street so obviously he'd decided not to make an issue out of it. Now she just had to get through another baby shopping trip with Vegeta. Now that was real work. Training to be a Super Saiyan was nothing in comparison.