At breakfast the next morning, things were relatively quiet. Nothing was said about nighttime visitors, weird noises, or nightmares.

Bulma continued to be nice to the Saiyan by cooking him an enormous breakfast and serving it to him at the kitchen table. Vegeta's mind started churning again and he didn't want to repeat the restlessness of last night. He knew that keeping his focus while training was going to be difficult at best the way things were. That's when he decided that, as distasteful as it was to him, he was going to get the answers he wanted.

"Woman, what's the schedule today?" Vegeta asked Bulma.

"I assume you are training as usual," she replied.

"No, I meant – what are you doing today?" he corrected.

"I only have to work," she replied.

"I need you to come with me for the morning. I – uh – require your assistance with something," he said.

Bulma was a bit taken aback. Vegeta of all people was asking her for help. She knew this must be serious if he could crack his pride even this little bit and ask her to do something for him. She walked over to the counter where her calendar was opened to today's date.

After perusing her datebook, she said, "Ok, Vegeta, I'm yours until lunchtime."

OlOlOlOlOlO

They met in the kitchen after breakfast. Vegeta led Bulma outside into the yard.

"Vegeta, where are we go-GOING?" Bulma asked. She expected them to go somewhere – by car, by foot – but Vegeta had other things in mind. He lifted her up in his arms and started to fly away from Capsule Corp.

"I want to eliminate distractions," was his reply once they were up in the air.

The flight to a spot outside of the city was silent. Vegeta knew exactly where he wanted to take her – it was a mountainous region with a river running through it with tall, green trees all around. Vegeta stopped in front of a waterfall and sat Bulma on a rock that was protruding from the land about half way up.

"Oh Vegeta, this is beautiful!" Bulma remarked. "When did you – "

"I come here to think," was his reply. "Sometimes the silence of my room is enough. If it isn't, I fly here instead."

Bulma didn't reply at first. She just took in the beauty of her surroundings.

"Vegeta, why did you bring me here?" asked Bulma.

"Woman, I need answers," he replied.

"You could have given answers back at Capsule Corp," she replied.

"I already told you – I wanted to eliminate distractions. Besides - ," he started. "I thought you'd like it here."

"Wow, Vegeta. Thinking of someone besides yourself. I didn't think I'd ever see the day," Bulma observed aloud.

"If you ever tell anyone about the next few hours, I will kill you," he said.

"You sound serious," she said sarcastically.

Vegeta let out an exhale. "Why did you leave?" he asked.

Bulma wasn't expecting that sort of blunt question from Vegeta. Her mind started to race a bit. Why does he care? Do I want to tell him? It's not his business! Who the hell does he think he is?

Her silence was deafening to him and he restated the question. "Woman, answer me. What did you do in the South Islands?"

"Why do you want to know Vegeta?" Bulma asked, getting serious.

"I just – I just need to know," he replied. Vegeta could tell the wheels in her head were turning. She didn't know whether to answer him or not.

"Vegeta, you've continually treated me like garbage. As much as I tolerate having you around, I really don't know why I should tell you anything. We aren't anything to each other. In truth, you are nothing more than a houseguest, someone I see every once in a while at the kitchen table," she said.

And it comes to this… "I," he started, then paused. "I missed your presence," he said. "And I was worried. You are the closest thing I have to a friend on this planet."

Bulma gasped. She knew how much effort a confession like that took. He missed me?

"So onna, answer my question," Vegeta repeated.

Bulma was definitely touched by what he had said to her.

"Vegeta, I didn't know," she said to him. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

"I'm not going to ask you again – answer the question!" he said more forcefully.

"Let me start at the beginning then so it makes sense to you," Bulma said. "You already know some of it, but I'll fill in the pieces. You came to Capsule Corp and, having met you on Namek, I knew you were kind of a jerk. Everyone else told me the same thing and asked me why I bothered to let you stay with us. But I swore there was something more to you. Then, after a few months and your horrible behavior, I was starting to think they were right. The final straw was that night with Yamcha, the night you found us on the couch. You were so mean that night...and even Yamcha wasn't even on my side. I was working such long hours and I was doubting my relationship with Yamcha and all the crap you had been putting me though. I just wanted someone to be on my side. That's when I realized that there was no one….that's when I decided I needed to go find myself."

"Find yourself? What the hell does that mean?" Vegeta asked.

"Oh, you know. I needed to figure some things out for myself. I wasn't happy and I needed to pull myself back up from the pit I had dug myself into," Bulma said.

"Go on," prompted Vegeta.

"And – that's it," she said.

"But you came back. Nothing changed," observed Vegeta.

"I changed," said Bulma.

"I didn't notice anything. You're still a skinny, weak earthling….," said Vegeta.

"Not outside, dummy. I changed on the inside," she explained. "Vegeta, I had to figure out what I wanted in life and how I where I was going in the future."

Vegeta still had sort of a blank look in his face. He really wasn't following Bulma's explanation very well. Saiyans were traditionally a lot more external and blunt about things. A mission of self-discovery was a bit too touchy-feely for Vegeta to fully comprehend.

Bulma saw his confusion and tried to help him understand.

"Listen, Vegeta," she started. "I came up with a few conclusions and wrote them down. I'm willing to share them with you if you want to hear them." With that, she pulled a folded piece of paper out of her back pocket. "I know I can get over-emotional. I promised myself that, at least for now, I would keep this with me to remind me what I decided."

Vegeta still had the same blank scowl that he usually did. Bulma took that as a sign to keep talking. She glanced down at the paper.

"First of all, work. I decided that I am going to enjoy myself more and not work so much. I never get to see my friends and my friends mean so much to me….," said Bulma. "There is definitely more to life than working."

Vegeta's face didn't change.

"Secondly, about you..," Bulma started.

Vegeta showed just the slightest twinge of interest at that.

"I know you don't talk much about your history, but I think I have a pretty good idea why you are the way you are. I think I expected too much out of you. And I started to listen to what others were saying. I was trying to read things that weren't there and getting wrapped up in who you really were. The truth of the matter is, Vegeta, you may be a curmudgeon, but I accept you for who you are."

"Hmh," he snorted.

Then she threw in, "I kind of missed having you around, too."

His eyes went slightly wider at that last statement.

She smiled, having started to figure out how to read his body language as slight as it was. If it wasn't for his body language, he would hardly communicate at all.

"Finally, I've made some decisions about Yamcha. I know you don't really care for him, so you'll be happy to hear that he's not the one for me," Bulma told him.

"But last night - ," said Vegeta.

"I never said I didn't have needs," she interrupted. "It's just more of a….friends with benefits type of thing for me."

Again, Vegeta looked a little confused. "Is that an earth custom?" he asked.

Bulma giggled upon hearing his question. "Not really," she replied. "And not everyone on earth believes in it either, just so you know. It means that we share each other physically, but that there are no expectations of any sort of attachment beyond friendship. As soon as I think I've found my Mr. Right, things will change again," she said. "But for now, I'm fine with things the way they are."

Hmmm. Interesting arrangement. Though what kind of warrior needs intimacy. It's just a distraction from training.

Bulma could tell Vegeta was thinking, though as usual, he wasn't saying anything.

"That's it, Vegeta. My life in a nutshell," she said.

He walked towards her and she could tell he was going to take her in his arms again. She held up her hand before he reached her. "Do you mind if we stay here just a little bit longer? It is beautiful here."

"Very well," he replied.

He lasted about a half hour more before he demanded they leave to go back to the city. After all, he had training to do. He had had enough of this emotional banter. He had gotten the answers he wanted and was, for the time being, satisfied.

That night, Vegeta slept soundly for the first time in several nights. He felt like he was back in control with the new knowledge he had acquired from the woman. He knew exactly where he stood as far as she was concerned. Little did he know how fast things can change…

OlOlOlOlOlO

Bulma and Vegeta went back to their own quipping ways after their heart-to-heart talk. Neither one of them brought up the excursion again, though both seemed more at ease with each other after that day.

True to her goal, Bulma continued with her changes and kept a good attitude with respect to life after she returned from the South Islands. Although she and Vegeta still traded barbs, nothing was taken personally, no one got upset and life moved on.

Vegeta was sub-consciously happier with his life. He had now been at Capsule Corp off and on for a couple of years – since the return from Namek. It had taken that long for him to finally settle in and accept the fact that this was going to be his life for the time being. His primary goal had not changed – to beat Karkarrot in battle and in power. He continued to work day in and day out on this primary goal. The rest of his time he defined as necessary and unnecessary distractions – meals, sleep, and interaction with the woman, her family, and anyone else who dared come around.

Bulma continued to see Yamcha. Yamcha would always be one of Bulma best friends no matter what their physical relationship status was. Vegeta sensed him around at all hours of the day. Sometimes he would spend the night and other times he would not. He usually hung out at Capsule Corp during the day, which Vegeta personally preferred because then he was not in his way. He didn't have to see, hear or smell him while he was in the gravity room – he just sensed that he was around and went on with his training.

Vegeta had slowly gotten used to the Brief family and usually sat down with them for breakfast and dinner each day. Lately, it wasn't usual that he ate alone; however, that's exactly what he was doing on one particular night. When he finished he sought out the closest human he could find to make sure everything was still copasetic. It didn't take him long to find Bulma on the living room couch watching TV.

"Woman, why didn't you eat dinner?" he said to her.

She didn't answer.

He walked around the end of the couch so he could at least see something of her besides the back of her head.

"Woman!" he said more demandingly. "Answer me!"

"I'm not the mood for your crap right now Vegeta," Bulma answered.

"Seems to me you've been 'in the mood' a lot recently," he shot back.

"Vegeta, enough!" she yelled.

"My, my, aren't we crabby tonight?" he kidded.

"I just had a fight with Yamcha," she answered.

"Now what?" he asked. He sighed, now realizing what he had gotten himself into.

"We actually got into it – about you," Bulma replied.

"Me? You two are nothing to me and I would assume the opposite is true as well," Vegeta replied.

"Yamcha still doesn't like you and I think he just worries about me…," she started.

"He worries? I could really give a flying leap about what he thinks about - ," started Vegeta.

"You have to admit your past track record isn't the best," said Bulma. "And you killed him once before. He doesn't trust you."

"And what about you?" he asked. "What do you think? Do you trust me?"

Bulma looked down at her hands which were sitting in her lap, trying to avoid eye contact. "Vegeta - ," she started. "I'm not really sure what you are to me. You've been around a while now and although you are gruff and your manners aren't the best, you certainly haven't hurt any of us. I don't think you would, either….now, anyway. I actually like you Vegeta. I don't think many people understand you, but I think I have you pegged. I've learned that if you look closely, you can see your true self behind the cold exterior."

"Hmh," was the only think out of Vegeta's mouth after Bulma's little speech.

"I know what you need and I know what you want. Goku is my friend, but he can take care of himself. You want to train so that you can beat him. I say, more power to you if you can. So I'm not going to let Yamcha ruin that for you," said Bulma.

"Wait, what?" said Vegeta. "Where did that come from?"

"That's why we were arguing. He was fooling around in the gravity room while you weren't in there," said Bulma. "I thought for sure that you could tell."

"I thought I smelled something off in there earlier," noted Vegeta more to himself than anyone. "I'm going to kill that baka!"

"Vegeta, knock it off. You aren't going to kill anyone," said Bulma. "I have your back. The room was built for you and no one else. I put a new lock on it so no one without the code can enter. You won't have to worry about him messing around in your gravity room anymore. Besides, I don't think he's going to be around much anyway."

"What? Why not?" asked Vegeta.

"He wanted me to stay away from you. I don't see you much now because of all your training, but he really wanted me to stay away from you. I said 'no' and he got angry," said Bulma. "Knowing him, he'll make himself scarce for at least the next month or so."

"So much for your little arrangement then," said Vegeta. "Poor Yamcha," he said sarcastically.

More like 'poor me', thought Bulma.