Yamcha and Bulma went out the next Friday night. Bulma took Yamcha to one of the most expensive restaurants in West City. Then they went dancing. Unfortunately, that part of the date didn't go so well because the women who were there would not leave Yamcha alone. At one point, when Bulma left him to use the restroom, she came back to find him backed up against one of the walls with no less than 10 women trying to speak to or otherwise touch him. Bulma dashed through the group of girls, grabbed him and led him out of the club.
"I'm sorry, Bulma. They won't just leave me alone. Every time I go out I think it will be the one time I actually get to enjoy myself and every time it turns into that," said Yamcha.
"I know, Yamcha. I'm sad about it, too. I love to go dancing," said Bulma. "I guess we'll just have to take what we get."
Bulma and Yamcha drove back to Capsule Corp and decided to settle into the living room and watch a movie. Bulma picked out a sappy romance, something that Yamcha would never have considered on his own. When she asked him about her choice, Yamcha quickly agreed – he had no intentions of spending much time actually watching the movie anyway.
Within 15 minutes of the start of the movie, the young lovers were spooning on the couch with Yamcha behind Bulma gently nipping at her neck and ears. Bulma closed her eyes and enjoyed the attention that she was getting from the handsome man behind her.
Yamcha took it a baby step further by using his hand to begin to caress her stomach and top hip. Bulma let out an audible exhale as she could feel herself slowly slipping under Yamcha's spell.
Bulma turned over and now faced her boyfriend and they began to kiss. Over time, their bodies slowly got closer together as they began to explore with their hands all the while their kissing became deeper and more frantic. Sex was nothing new to Bulma and Yamcha – and that's exactly where they were headed. Bulma guessed Yamcha would not be opposed based on the bulge that currently resided in the front of his pants. She ran her hand down between the two of them and gently touched him there. Yamcha let out a soft moan as a result.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" said a voice from behind them.
Yamcha and Bulma instinctively sat up and pulled away from each other not immediately realizing what was going on.
"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted as she suddenly figured out who it was.
"Gross. I didn't need to see two weaklings exchanging bodily fluids," said Vegeta. He closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth.
"Sorry, your majesty, but this is my house," said Bulma, immediately taking a defensive position at Vegeta's prods. "If I want to sit here on the couch with my boyfriend, then I'm going to do it!"
Yamcha didn't say a word. He had grabbed a pillow off the couch and placed it on his lap – he was obviously just a little flustered about the whole situation.
"You two are pathetic!" was Vegeta's reply to this and he turned and walked out of the room.
"I'm so embarrassed," said Yamcha to Bulma.
"Why?" asked Bulma.
"He's right. We shouldn't have been doing that here," said Yamcha.
"We weren't even doing anything!" said Bulma. "Kissing!"
"You know it would have gone further," answered Yamcha.
"Oh, so now you're taking his side?" she retorted.
"No – I, uh - I'm just saying we could have gone to your room or something," said Yamcha sheepishly. "You have a TV and a couch in there, too."
Bulma was pissed. As usual, she went off the deep end and saw Yamcha's thoughts somehow as a betrayal.
"Well, Yamcha, that's exactly where I am going….alone!" said Bulma. She turned and stomped up the stairs towards her bedroom. She entered, and slammed the door behind her.
Yamcha sat there for a minute or two trying to figure out exactly what he did that was so wrong. He was at a loss and there was nothing else to do but leave for the night. He knew from past experience that once she got this upset, he could either let her cool down or continue to fan the flames by trying to talk to her. He grabbed his jacket and began to make his way out of the residence.
Yamcha walked into the kitchen to grab a drink before he went out the back door. Vegeta happened to be in there grabbing dinner before he headed upstairs to clean up and get some sleep.
"Moron," said Vegeta to Yamcha as he leaned into the refrigerator to see what was in there to drink.
Yamcha ignored the Saiyan prince. He already didn't care for Vegeta and knew better than to be goaded into a confrontation he knew he could never win. He found a can of cola and gently opened it. He took a swig and turned to head out the door.
"Loser," said Vegeta quietly under his breath.
Yamcha turned and faced him. "What exactly is your problem? You've already ruined my evening. What else do you want?"
"Oh, I thought I had salvaged your evening," said Vegeta. "Now you can do something other than cater to that baka."
"Yeah, thanks," replied Yamcha sarcastically. "I owe you one." With that, he walked out the door.
OlOlOlOlOlO
Bulma lay on her bed with her face on her pillow. Tears leaked from her eyes though they were not the tears of sadness. When Bulma got emotionally upset – when she was pissed, angry, or extremely frustrated – she tended to cry. This particular episode lasted a full half hour. Eventually, her mind calmed down enough that she noted a slight ping in her stomach. She was hungry.
She looked in the bathroom mirror. Though she did her best to make herself look somewhat presentable, the red swollen eyes definitely gave away what she had been doing.
When she got to the kitchen, she was surprised to find Vegeta still in there just finishing his meal. He was about to get up and rinse off the plates he had used.
"It's good to see old monkeys performing their new tricks," she said to him.
Vegeta ignored the comment. He turned and looked at her and saw that she had been crying.
"What are you looking at?" she said bluntly.
He turned away from her. He was curious more than anything…nosy, to be more exact. He loved having more ammunition for his future jabs at her – but he wasn't willing to have her mistake his curiosity for actual caring. That imbecile isn't worth tears.
Bulma sat down at the table. She leaned on her elbows and leaned her forehead into her hands. She mostly started talking to herself, but was fully aware that Vegeta would hear what she had to say as well.
"I'm so tired," she said aloud.
Vegeta once again turned to look at her.
"I work hard and I try to be strong for everyone. I'm just sick of….fighting. Sick of…. pretending." After a pause, she said softly, "Too much drama."
Vegeta was taken a bit aback. He noted that she was exposing her feelings to him, but didn't have the first clue what to do with them. Based on the games they had played with each other, that was the last thing he ever expected her to do. Normally, he'd look for a smart ass quip to say to her, but right now, while she was like this, he just didn't see the point.
She didn't really know what she expected out of Vegeta. Sure, she did want to know what made him tick. Over and over again he just came across as a jerk….a shallow jerk that was only put on this planet to annoy people and pretend that he was the center of everyone's universe. Even now, he wasn't saying anything to her. He just continued staring at her.
She sighed. Bulma opened a cupboard and grabbed a bag of something or other to eat and went out the back door.
The moon wasn't full, but it gave her a great view of the green yard that lay between the residence, the gravity room and several of the other Capsule Corp buildings. She found the nearest tree and sat down beneath it. The tree was a decent size, but not big enough that her view of the stars was blocked. The night sky always brought her peace.
Vegeta didn't know why, but he followed her outside. When he saw her figure under the tree, he followed her there and sat down beside her. He remained silent.
Bulma was a bit confused as to why Vegeta was sitting next to her, but frankly, at this point, she just didn't care.
They sat there in silence for a bit. Then Bulma said, "Why are you here?"
"I'm not sure," was his reply.
"Haven't you done enough to me tonight?" she asked. "Yamcha and I were going to have a great night together and then you came around. You could have just left the room…"
"That wouldn't have been as fun," said Vegeta.
"Am I only a game to you?" asked Bulma. "Someone who you can insult and call names?"
He didn't answer.
"I honestly felt sorry for you….for months, I felt sorry for you. You seemed so lonely and isolated. Everyone told me you were nothing more than a jerk and a killer - that you didn't care about anyone but yourself. I told them that there had to me more to you."
Vegeta looked a little surprised.
"And you know what I found? I think they were probably right," said Bulma.
Silence.
"I never asked for your pity," he finally replied.
"Why am I talking to you?" asked Bulma to herself. She got up off the ground and started walking away from the tree. "I've got to get away from here."
Vegeta continued to sit there. He found that he was feeling…a little down about what the woman had just said. It was an emotion he had felt before, though not very often. He didn't know why, but - for some inexplicable reason - he did care what happened next.
OlOlOlOlOlO
Vegeta continued he usual routine after that night. But by the fourth day, he had noted that the only two people he even had gotten a glimpse of were that annoying blonde woman and her husband. Where was the onna?
Vegeta made sure to attend the next meal with the two older Briefs to see where their blue-haired daughter was.
"Oh Vegeta!" said Mrs. Brief. "It's so nice that you came to dinner!"
"Hmh," was his reply.
After a few minutes of near-silence, Vegeta finally spoke. "Where is your daughter?"
"Bulma? She decided to take an extended vacation," said Dr. Brief.
Vacation?
"Where is she?" asked Vegeta for the second time.
"Oh, do you miss her dear?" Mrs. Brief asked in return.
Vegeta turned a little pink. "I just need to know in case something happens to the gravity room," was his excuse.
"I see," said Dr. Brief. "Well, if you need anything in that department, just come find me. I don't think Bulma will be available for a little while."
Vegeta still waited for an answer from his last question. After a few more seconds of silence, Mrs. Brief noted that he was still waiting.
"Oh, ummm, I think she went to one of the South Islands for a while," said Mrs. Brief.
"Hmh," repeated Vegeta again before he continued eating.
OlOlOlOlOlOlO
A few more weeks went by and Bulma did not return. Although his daily life did not change, he did think of her now and again. He had become attached to her in a way – no, not romantically – but such that he did enjoy having her around. She was feisty and blunt and loud. Life was indeed a bit more boring without her around.
He thought back to that night under the tree and how…broken she seemed. Like something had finally cracked within her. Then he hoped that it wasn't him who had been the final straw.
OlOlOlOlOlO
Vegeta came in from the gravity room one evening to find a full display of food waiting for him on the kitchen table. He surveyed the meal and noted that the timing couldn't have been better for his empty stomach. Unfortunately for him, he really didn't feel like being on the receiving end of an attempted dinner conversation that evening.
As he stood there contemplating whether to eat fresh, hot food with the two annoying elder Briefs, or hope that the reheated leftovers would be equally to his satisfaction, Bulma walked into the kitchen.
"Hi Vegeta," she greeted him warmly as if no time at all had gone by.
He was surprised a bit by her sudden presence. "Onna," was all he could muster, nodding at her.
"Will you be joining me for dinner?" she asked him.
Vegeta nodded even before he really thought through it.
"Go get yourself cleaned up then," she said.
Vegeta went to his room to take a quick shower. When he returned to the kitchen, Bulma was sitting at the table with a plate of food in front of her.
"Where are your parents?" asked Vegeta.
"They went out tonight," she answered. "All this is for you."
"I see you've finally learned how to treat a prince," he quipped.
Bulma smiled at the banter. "Believe it or not, Vegeta, I've missed our…conversations."
Vegeta started to chow down on the food that was in front of him. He didn't want to say anything for fear that the woman would get the wrong impression – that he had any interest in her at all. But, in truth, he did have an interest – what happened and why did she leave? Ultimately, he kept up the front and didn't say a word during the entire meal.
Bulma cleaned up the meal and life moved on as if nothing had happened.
OlOlOlOlOlO
The following evening, Yamcha came over for dinner. He and Bulma retired to her personal sitting room to watch a movie after the meal was done. Bulma had learned her lesson the last time and wasn't about to repeat it.
Vegeta could feel Yamcha's ki within the house and he wasn't very pleased he was here. He could sense what was taking place behind the closed bedroom door.
Why does this bother me?
Vegeta flopped down on his comfy bed. For some reason, his mind was spinning with questions and ideas and it didn't want to slow down to allow him to get sleep.
His first thoughts concerned the couple located one floor below him. Why do I care? Was he just being protective over the woman who had become the closest thing to a friend that he currently had? He had actually missed her presence when she was gone. Life had actually gotten a bit more boring for him. Perhaps it was just that he had zero respect for the man, weakling that he was. Vegeta was a bit surprised that the pair had made it through the last 6 weeks. Not only had they parted on bad terms, but then Bulma took off and left him and her entire life behind for all those weeks.
His thoughts then continued down the path of the night that he walked in on them on the living room couch. After all the events that night, she left. Where did she go and what did she do? Has anything changed? She cooked me that huge meal yesterday knowing her parents would not be there. What was that all about?
Vegeta felt like he had lost some control – over Bulma, over himself, over life. He didn't know everything that was going on with the woman and as a result, didn't know where he stood here, the place he currently called home. That left him feeling a slight bit uncomfortable. He wanted answers, yet he was annoyed at himself for daring to care that he didn't have the answers. He wanted to be left alone, but at the same time, needed to know what was going on.
Click! A door somewhere opened. Vegeta looked at the clock. I must have drifted off to sleep.
His Saiyan ears picked up on what was going on. He could hear Yamcha and Bulma whispering and walking away from her bedroom. She must be showing him out.
Vegeta turned over determined to get some sleep. He was stressed by his thoughts and didn't want to deal with them anymore.
OlOlOlOlOlO
"Vegeta," he heard in his dream.
"Vegeta!" he heard a little louder. Then he felt someone touch his arm.
With a start, he sat up straight ready to strike at a moment's notice. What? Where?
"It's ok, Vegeta. It's just me," said Bulma, sitting on the bed next to him.
"Baka! Who invited you to come into my room?" Vegeta said harshly as he realized what was going on.
"Are you ok?" she asked, completely ignoring his question.
"Of course, I'm ok. Why wouldn't I be?" Vegeta responded.
Bulma got up off the bed and made her way towards the door. "That must have been some nightmare. I heard you all the way from my bedroom. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Then she turned and left.
Vegeta took a deep breath. He was sweaty and hot. Then he remembered what he had been dreaming about.