Bulma's chest tightened slightly as she and Yamcha finally arrived at his house. She was about to tell him the full story of she and Vegeta, and she didn't even know if she could. She hadn't spoken of it, thought about it, or remembered it in months. It was all a coping mechanism, of course. She didn't enjoy being honest with herself but a sick part of her still loved Vegeta. She figured there must be something wrong with her if she could still love him after what he'd done to her. She felt nauseas at the memories.

She and Yamcha made their way into his house and found themselves on his living room's couch. Bulma could sense his eagerness to know the truth. She knew it was time and braced herself. She put on her sweatshirt for good measure. Looking into her kind Yamcha's eyes, she began.

"Well, okay...You want to know the truth. And, I'm going to tell you, but I need to lay down some ground rules first, you got that? If I start crying, ignore it okay. I don't need or want your pity. And, if I say I don't want to go into further detail about something or, like, don't want to talk about something, don't push me. Got it?"

He nodded. She had never seen him so serious. It was kind of cute.

"Good. Okay so...Here goes." Bulma gathered herself before continuing. It was hard for her to revisit this time in her life; it was such a conflicting and dark part of her life. "So, around two years ago, Vegeta and I were kind of a couple. Yeah, I know it's weird to think that, like, how could Vegeta ever commit to one woman, you know? Well, we've known each other since we were about nine, I think, and we grew up together. Sometimes...sometimes he shows me a side of him that not many people see. It's not pretty, most of the time, but it's real. I don't know, I think that's relevant...So..." Bulma sensed her eyes becoming welled up with tears and stopped talking for a bit to regain her calm and cool exposure. She couldn't let someone like Yamcha see that she could be weak at times. She was Bulma Briefs, for crying out loud, she never let her emotions get the better of her. Well, not since things with Vegeta took a turn for the worse.

"Okay, so that's why I fell for him. He let me in, sometimes. Rarely. But, he did. And, I liked him when he told the truth. And, I liked that he...cared for me when he didn't so much for others. He has a hard shell or whatever, but he's so god damn loyal if he deems you worthy. Well, he used to be at least..."

Bulma looked up at Yamcha who was appearing quite worried at this point. She figured he wouldn't know what to do if she lost it. To hell with it, she thought. If this, her relationship with him, were going to be anything real, he'd have to see her at her darkest points eventually.

"You know what happened to his mom, right?" Bulma asked.

"Kind of. I know she was killed-" Bulma flinched at the way he discussed Mrs. Ryuu's passing. "Sorry for being so blunt. Um, well yeah, that's all I know about it."

"Well, Mrs. Ryuu, who was a very, very dear friend of mine," Bulma could not stop the tears at this point. "She, Kami I still can't believe this happened, she was killed. By a man named Frieza. I won't go into the details of why he killed her, it's really none of your business," she added coldly. "Kami, if I could get my hands on him...He'd never see the light of day again."

Yamcha could tell that Bulma meant every word she said. He could tell that the death of Mrs. Ryuu was with her everyday, with every step she took. He tried to remember Bulma from freshmen year of high school and recalled how much happier and at ease she was with her life. He also recalled how Vegeta was almost always at her side, always insulting her. Yamcha also noticed that he had never seen someone insult another with so much love, as the way Vegeta insulted Bulma. Before Bulma could continue, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. He didn't know exactly what to say, but he hoped she would understand from his embrace. She kissed Yamcha's forehead, thanking him for his compassion.

"So, Vegeta sort of lost it at that point. He had kind of treated his mom badly at points, but like, who hasn't he treated badly at some point? He loved her so much...She was the one who had made him into the man that I eventually found myself loving. And, then she was taken away from him. And, it all happened way too quickly for anyone to handle. Let alone someone as emotionally unstable as Vegeta Ryuu..." Bulma paused for a moment. She was approaching another hard part in her story.

"Vegeta and I were still together, so to speak, at the time of his mother's passing. I knew things would be hard for us for a long time. But, I didn't care. I wanted to be there for him because I knew he'd do the same for me, Kami forbid the situation were reversed. I knew he'd never give up on me no matter what, so I vowed to do the same for him. I didn't know what was about to happen, though."

Yamcha held onto Bulma's hand tighter than before. He knew what she was about to talk about.

"I walked into school one morning. It was a Thursday. Walking to the lobby, I immediately looked for Vegeta, I mean, he had called me earlier that morning telling me to meet him there or something. When I got there, I saw him and he smirked at me. You know, the usual Vegeta smirk. Then, before I knew what was really going on, he started yelling at everyone to gather round. People listen to him, I don't know why, but yeah, they did gather round. I think you were there. I remember seeing you, but I didn't really know you at that point...Anyway, yeah. He called three girls - Maron, Natsuko, and Asuka, three friends of mine - forward and then asked me to come stand before him. I was so confused. I had no idea what was about to happen. Then, he looked at everyone who had gathered and started telling them how he had slept with these girls. On purpose, yeah, he made sure to tell them he did it on purpose. He made sure to look me in the eyes as he said it too. He told everyone that he had done this because they were my friends, and he really wanted to make sure that I knew I meant nothing to him. That he relished in my pain and in my suffering. That I could drop dead, and he wouldn't even blink. And, that he might even be happy. I'm not exaggerating, by the way. Like, I don't want you to pity me or anything, but you asked for the truth and this is what it is."

Yamcha nodded slowly at her. He really could not believe his ears. He wanted so badly to leave his house right that second and punch Vegeta so hard that his face caved in. But, he knew Bulma would not have that. He could sense that she still cared for him but could not for the life of him figure out why.

Bulma took his nod as a sign to continue. "So, yeah. Then, he looked at me and asked me if I understood. I was so speechless I don't even know how I managed to shake my head yes. But, I did and thank Kami I managed to hold in my tears. I ran to the bathroom and stayed in there for hours. I didn't speak to him for an entire week, I only came to school one or two days during that week. It was all too humiliating. I'm not a weak girl, but I couldn't handle the way people laughed at me. So, I avoided it all. But, then I remembered that promise I had made to myself and to him. That I'd never give up on him, no matter what. I had to honor that promise or at least try to. So, I went to his house about a week and a half after the incident. I remember the look at his face when he answered the door and I was standing there. Basically, we went up to his room, and I tried to tell him about that promise I had made to myself about not giving up on him, no matter what he did. And, that I understood that he only did that to me because he wanted to feel something or because he couldn't deal with his pain any other way. And then he got the angriest I've ever seen him. He almost hit me. I don't know how but he found it in himself to not at least physically hurt me, but he hit the wall next to me, and I ran out of his house before things could get worse."

"Bulma, does anyone know about this?" Yamcha looked genuinely concerned at this moment. Maybe Vegeta needed to see a psychiatrist or something. What he was hearing was not normal rebellious behavior.

"No, Yamcha, and if you ever fucking tell anyone about it, I will see to it that you pay."

"Sorry. You know I'd never tell if you feel so strongly about my discretion."

"I know. Yeah, so I ran out of his house. I didn't try to talk to him after that, ever again. But, two days later, his brother, Haruki, came to see me, telling me that Vegeta had sent him. Haruki told me that Vegeta wanted me to know that he never wanted to speak to me again, hear from me again, or see me again. And, that he apologized for scaring me but nothing else. That was it. I didn't speak to him again for two years, not until this past Sunday, but that's a whole other thing, and I don't want to talk about it. But yeah, that's the truth. That's what happened between us. The end. You happy?"

Yamcha shook his head and kissed her tears. She bedded with him that night, for the first time. She did her best to force Vegeta out of her mind as Yamcha thrust inside her or when they lay next to each other in silence, after. Yet, her efforts did no good.

Vegeta, Goku, 17, and 18 sat together at their favorite pizza parlor. 18 was telling her friends about Bulma's party, which was scheduled for that evening. The three boys had not been invited, for Bulma did not really know 17 and Goku and well, Vegeta was pretty much self-explanatory.

"Can't we just show up? That Bulma girl is so hot. Literally, the things I'd do to her...Can't you just take us with you, 18?" 17 whined to his sister. A blast of jealousy surged through Vegeta's entire body. How could he talk about the woman that way? She was his, and no one else's. He could not even think of her bedding with someone other than he. And then it dawned on him that she probably had bedded with other men, maybe even that low-life idiot whatever his name was. Some with a Y...He was always forgetting.

"Shut up, 17. She's a human being, not a toy," Goku snapped at his good friend.

"Whatever, we'll see if I can take you with me." 18 rolled her eyes at her brother but knew at heart that if the opportunity presented itself, he would only treat Bulma with respect and love.

"18, you're going to get me in that party." Vegeta glared at her, letting her know with his eyes that he meant business.

"What are you talking about, Vegeta? You obviously can't go, especially not after last night's fiasco!"

Goku looked between 18 and Vegeta. "What happened last night, guys?"

18 groaned. "See if your best friend will tell you what he did when he dropped by during a certain someone's date!"

Goku raised his eyebrows at Vegeta. "If you must know, Kakarot, I heard about Bulma and that idiot's date, so why not? Thought I'd drop by. The woman agreed wanted to be friends again, after all. Isn't that what friends do? Embarrass each other? Cause that's for sure what I feel whenever I'm around you lot." He sneered at his fellow companions.

"What did you do to Briefs?" Goku wondered, ignoring Vegeta's rude comment and pressing his earlier question.

"Nothing. I merely showed up at the restaurant they were at together, pulled up a chair to their table, and talked to them for the rest of the evening. What in Kami's name is so wrong with that?"

18 looked just short of exploding. "Are you a joke, Vegeta? Bulma called me this morning in tears saying how you were telling Yamcha how he shouldn't be with her, how she was so clingy and high maintenance. How you just generally dissed her for being a woman countless times. Why the fuck would you do that to her? Hasn't she suffered enough on your behalf?"

Vegeta flinched slightly at the thought of Bulma suffering. He hadn't really considered how his intrusion would make her feel, he had been too focused on ruining the evening, so she wouldn't get the chance to get into the idiot's pants or something. Moreover, he didn't need his guide to the Dragon Balls to have such a distraction as a boyfriend.

"Maybe I won't go to the party." Vegeta looked out the window of the pizza place and suddenly jumped out of the booth and was on his way before the others got a chance to object or question him. He had some business to take care of.

Vegeta drove his car down the familiar way to Capsule Corp. He was planning on going there to apologize to Bulma and see if she might invite him to her party later that evening. He needed to do whatever he could to get on her good side, otherwise she'd never help him find the Dragon Balls. He began to lose hope slowly that she'd ever help him. He knew she'd help in an instant if he had any tangible proof that they existed, but it wouldn't be for him. It would be for his mother, and he was okay with that but part of him longed for her to forgive for the awful things he had done back then. He understood, at that point, that he didn't deserve her forgiveness or her kindness, but he craved it so badly.

As he merged onto the highway, he had a change of heart. He could either go to Bulma's and try to get out an apology but knew that they'd really just end up getting into another fight. Or, he could go to her idiot's house and apologize to him about last night's events and tell him how wonderful the woman was. He laughed to himself, wondering what he had come to as he took the turn that lead to Yamcha's.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" Yamcha said with a shocked and angered expression on his face after opening his front door to find none other than Vegeta Ryuu standing there.

"I don't remember what your name is, but for some reason, the woman chose you. I'm not going to even try to understand why. I'm here to tell you seven things about her. Don't ask me why. Don't question my motives. I wouldn't tell you anyway, and if you ever tell her or anyone else I told you this," Vegeta took a step closer, looking into Yamcha's dark eyes with his stone cold stare, "I will rip out your esophagus and beat you with it. Got that?"

Yamcha pushed Vegeta out of his face and growled. "How dare you?! Who do you think you are?"

"Do you want to hear me out or not?"

Yamcha paused for a moment and thought it over. He truly hated himself when he agreed to let Vegeta proceed but keeping Bulma around meant a lot to him, and he realized he'd go to great lengths to make that happen.

"One, she never wears make up because she thinks it's the same as lying. Two, she hates even numbers because they're too perfect. Three, she makes a lot of lame physics jokes, so you at least have to attempt to laugh at them or she'll take it very personally. Four, she's a terrible dancer, but she loves it. Five, her favorite color is firetruck red because she always wants to make a statement. Six, she never keeps the same hairstyle for too long because her greatest fear is being forgettable. Seven, she becomes very vulnerable and open when she falls for people, so if you hurt her, just know that I'll beat you to a pulp."

"Such an awesome party, Briefs! Thanks for inviting us last minute," Goku exclaimed as he gave Bulma a quick squeeze. Chi-Chi stood a few feet away aching with jealousy at the sight of Bulma hugging her love, Goku. Bulma could feel her best friend's eyes boring into her back and knew this was Chi's only real opportunity to get to know Goku. He seemed like a real decent guy, so to show her approval, Bulma shoved Goku in her best friend's direction.

"You guys, thanks for trying to help with the whole situation I have with Vegeta, haha. I haven't known you for long, Goku, but thanks. You must be a really good person to do that for someone you don't even know. And, you, Chich, I love you. You're my sister. I really don't know what I'd do without you, ever. You guys should talk though, I'll be looking for Yamcha if you need me!" Bulma laughed as she pranced away from her new friend and her best friend. She was happy to see Chi-Chi happy. If only she could find that same happiness in Yamcha...

Bulma searched through the entire ground level of her house, indoors and outdoors, to find Yamcha. Where could he have possibly gone? Everyone was pretty much congregating in the kitchen and in the living room. She tried calling his phone, but there was no answer. She figured that she had nothing to lose and proceeded upstairs to check all the bedrooms. She was about to give up after checking a third room but was struck with curiosity at the sound of a girl's high pitched giggle coming from one of the guest bedroom's. Bulma mused that it might be Krillin getting with someone, for she had not seen him after the first five minutes or so of the party. She giggled happily, hoping this was the case and that he was finally getting over his age old crush on 18. She pushed the door gently, just to peak at who it was, and almost collapsed when her eyes met her worst nightmare.

There, Yamcha sat, kissing Maron. He held her soft, blue hair in hands as he kissed her lips and cheeks. Maron giggled softly into his neck. Bulma didn't know what to do in that moment. Would she run away and wait and see if he came and told her about his infidelity? Or, would she stand her ground and make him wish he'd never been born? And, the same would go for Maron. Kami, I just want to ring her neck, Bulma thought to herself. And, at that moment, after remembering how she had slept with Vegeta after being her friend for ten years going strong, Bulma couldn't keep it together.

"I hope you know," she began shakily to the fornicating twosome. Yamcha snapped back into reality and pulled away from Maron. Maron quietly gasped and then smirked. "You'll live to regret this, Yamcha. I don't care how long it takes, but one day, you will live to regret this."

Bulma spun around and slammed the door behind her, before bursting into tears. She ran down the stairs, grabbed a bottle of tequila, and ran out of her house, across the road, and to the only person she thought would listen to her at this moment.

As she made her way to Vegeta's house, she downed half the bottle of tequila, and the liquor hit her instantly. Her hasty run slowed to a sloppy walk, and she could barely differentiate between his house and the neighbor's. She finally arrived at his door and pressed the bell.

"Woman?" He cried, completely alarmed as he looked over her state. "What in Kami's name are you doing here? And, why do you look like an absolute wreck?!"

Bulma's tears were still coming down at full speed but his alarmed comments made her laugh so hard her sides began to hurt. Vegeta was growing more and more worried by the minute, and he began to realize that the idiot must have done something to hurt the woman.

"Did he try to hurt you, woman? Did the idiot do something wrong? Tell me. You can tell me." He grabbed hold her of her shaking body in an attempt to hold her steady and tried to force some sort of eye contact with his woman.

"Maron..." was all she said as she began laughing again. Even though she had only uttered one word, Vegeta knew exactly what she meant.

"Vegeta...I want you," she said suddenly, throwing her arms around his neck. She tried to kiss him but he grabbed her arms and pushed her away from him, gently. "Vegeta, no! I am...asking you...for sex. Sex. I want to have SEX WITH YOU!"

Vegeta didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned. "Woman, I'm not going to do this to you in your condition. If you still feel the same way after sobering up, come and see me. But, I want to do this right...After all, it's been so long..." He looked into her beautiful eyes and cringed, as it took all his will power not to reciprocate to her kisses and hugs.

Bulma exploded in anger and rage before he could stop her. "How can you do this to me, Vegeta?" She all out screamed at him, and the tears were still sliding down her cheeks with every word. "I...you...you ignored me for so long. I loved you! I only loved you. Sometimes...sometimes, I still love you, and I want to KILL MYSELF FOR IT! And, here I am, begging you to love me back...even if it is only for one night. And, you still won't have me. How could I be so stupid? I fucking HATE YOU! I'll never help you look for those Dragon Balls. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" She bellowed at him and ran away from his front door, into the night.

He couldn't decide whether to go after her or leave her be. If he let her be, something bad would most likely happen to her. And if he went after her, he'd have to deal with an emotional Bulma Briefs.

At the end of the day, it all boiled down to whether he actually gave a damn for her or not.

Wow, so I think this is a sort of long chapter. I don't know if I like it so much... I'm sorry about not including Bulma's decision about the search for the Dragon Balls, yet, but I promise, next chapter! I hope you don't hate Vegeta too much after finding out the reason he and Bulma stopped talking.

Could you guys please keep reviewing? Thank you so much for all your kind words! 3

P.S. There might be typos, but I'm too tired to edit right now.