Krillin felt as though his insides were on a roller coaster, as 18's arm brushed against his. He gulped and took a giant sip of his soda before continuing to listen to whatever Chi-Chi was blabbering about. They had all gathered at the local pizza place the first Monday of break (Bulma and Vegeta left on a Saturday morning for the lab, so they've been there two days now) to discuss the whereabouts of their other friends, Bulma and Vegeta. Both had come up with a bullshit story about visiting some random aunt or uncle in the countryside, but they were each flawed coverups. Krillin knew that the only aunt Bulma ever spoke to lived in California. Goku knew that Vegeta's uncle lived in the far most southern part of Japan, a very urban place at that, and most certainly not in the countryside. Given that Bulma and Vegeta had become friends again recently, their friends could only assume that they had gone somewhere together. None of them had expected that Bulma would forgive Vegeta for what he had done to her; it was a complete shock to all of them. And, Goku knew that Vegeta still had un-dealt with feelings for Bulma, and it was completely obvious that Bulma still had some lingering feelings for him. But, why would they have gone off together? Surely they could have spent time together, even alone, at home, if they wanted to. They must have had a real reason to leave so abruptly.

"Maybe they're eloping," 17 mused, taking a bite of his pizza crust and feeling a pang of jealousy in his gut. He always had a little crush on Bulma, yet she was always taken by someone else. 18 whacked her brother on the back of his head at his stupidity.

"Okay...No." She said, rolling her eyes. "Guys, why are we even bothering? If they want some alone time to do whatever they're doing, let them have it!"

Goku glanced at Chi-Chi after 18 had expressed her opinion. He could tell that Chi was in no way giving up the search for her best friend, she cared far too much about her and for Vegeta not getting the chance to hurt her again.

"I think we should at least find out where they've gone, you know," Goku offered and turned to Chi-Chi and smiled. She gave him a thankful grin and squeezed his hand warmly. They each felt a little flutter in their stomachs as the butterflies flew around.

"I agree with Goku!" She exclaimed to the group. "I'm going to call Bulma and see if she tells me the truth. Plus, it's her birthday tomorrow, so she'll definitely pick up." She dialed her friend's number and waited. After a few rings, she said, "No answer...Wow, she never ignores my calls. What the hell is going on?"

They all sat around, eating their pizza and giving each other confused glances. There was no way that they could find out where their friends had gone, if Bulma refused to answer the phone, and they knew Vegeta would never tell them the truth. It was getting late, so Chi-Chi broke the silence, "Well, if we're not gonna get to the bottom of anything, I think I'm gonna go home. But, do you guys wanna see a movie tonight or something?" Everyone broke out in a agreement, and it was soon decided that they would later convene at the local movie theater to see the most recent horror film. Everyone's favorite. "Alright!" She said again. "See you guys later."

"Wait, Chi-Chi!" Goku said, sliding out of the booth awkwardly. "I'll walk you out."

She smiled at him and blushed profusely. They walked in silence as they exited the restaurant but once outside, he spun her around to look at him. She looked a little bit shocked, so he caressed her cheek fondly. She blushed again.

"It's been really great getting to know you lately," he mumbled, suddenly becoming very shy and not being able to maintain eye contact very well.

Chi-Chi found his onyx eyes and said, "Haha, yeah. It really has been..."

"I was just wondering, will you have dinner with me? I can cook! Ish. Well, I'll do my best! Haha. So...What do you say?"

Chi-Chi felt as though she was about to die. This dream she'd had for so long was finally coming true, but she felt so differently about it than she had expected. Instead of feeling like some fangirl getting kissed on the cheek by their favorite star, she felt at home with Goku. He made her feel so safe, with his loving smiles and perfectly naïve eyes.

"That would be lovely," she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

For the past two days, Bulma and Vegeta had been ignoring each other while in her father's lab. He just exercised and trained, in case they got into any physical trouble on their search. She kept to herself in the tech lab, working on the Dragon Ball radar. It had been coming along well, she had used the history books' descriptions of the properties of the Dragon Balls as an aid to her construction of the radar. It was difficult, however, since she didn't have an actual Dragon Ball to use as an apparatus. She figured it would be another 3 or 4 days until she was done, which irritated Vegeta, as he wanted to get the show on the road.

That evening, she tried to find Vegeta to bid goodnight, but he was nowhere to be found. She shrugged and retreated to her bedroom, wanting to stay up till midnight, given that the following day was her birthday but knew she was far too sleepy. She had to at least wish herself, for she knew Vegeta would not care or remember. It was her 18th birthday, after all. Yet, she fell asleep at around 10:30 PM.

"Woman," she felt someone shake her. She rolled over to find Vegeta standing over her, holding an orchid in one hand and a small bag in the other. "Wake up."

"What? Vegeta? What are you doing in here?!" She sat up and looked at him angrily.

"Happy anniversary of your day of birth," he replied, ignoring her protests. He placed the orchid on her bedside table and put the bag in front of her. She looked at it suspiciously. "It's not a bomb or something, woman."

She reached into the bag and pulled out a box. In the box was a necklace she had thought she had lost years ago. The last time she remembered having it was before she was to sleepaway tech camp the summer after seventh grade. "What? I thought I lost this..."

"Actually," Vegeta explained, averting his eyes to the pillow next to her. "I took it from you before you left for that camp. I was gonna miss you. That was back when I cared about you." He sat down next to her, and she chuckled at his rude remark. She beamed at him.

Bulma could not believe what was happening before her eyes. He had remembered her birthday and given her a token of their childhood together. She couldn't believe he had had that necklace all along. For a moment, she let her mind wonder to some speculations that she had kept hidden ever since they had become friends again. Did he have feelings for her? And, more importantly, could she possibly have feelings for him again? Not old lingering feelings from when they were an item, but new, fresh feelings, from this newfound, strange friendship. She couldn't possibly. Not after what he'd done, it was too cruel. But, she found that she was completely helpless with Vegeta, and she hated that about herself. But, she loved it about him. She would have to push those feelings into a deep, dark cave where no one would ever find them. And, she could not let something like that kiss happen again; that had been bad. She felt so alive when he was running his fingers through her hair, and she was kissing his neck, and she could feel his hunger and thirst for her. It made her feel powerful and excited, two things she never felt when she was with Yamcha, or any other man for that matter.

"Thank you so much..." she began slowly, taking his arm and pulling him closer to her, instantly forgetting about all her thoughts from a few moments ago. "This really is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. Like, I've gotten nice presents and stuff, but no one's ever put so much thought into it. Thank you, Vegeta."

"Yeah, whatever, woman. This was just to show my gratitude for, you know, helping me," he quickly responded, still not knowing whether that was a lie or the truth. He had spent the last week or so, before they had left for the lab, trying to find that necklace, for he knew Bulma's birthday was coming up. He had stashed it away because Haruki had caught him playing with him a few times after Bulma had left him.

"Doesn't matter. I can't believe you have that necklace, haha, I thought irresponsible me had gone and lost it."

"You are irresponsible in most situations, but yes, I'll take the blame for this one."

"Hey! When am I ever irresponsible, bud? Shut up."

"Um...check your dating history. That Yam-whatever guy? What a disgusting choice. Apart from me, however. You actually had some good taste, for once, in that decision." He snickered.

"Wow, shut up, Vegeta! Dating you was the worst decision of my life!" She said, in a clearly sarcastic tone, but he still winced slightly at her words.

"Was it, woman?" He asked, cupping her cheek suddenly. Again, he had no idea what he was doing or why. And, neither did she. But, neither cared in the slightest.

"Yeah..." She mumbled, looking down.

"It was the best decision of mine," he found himself saying. He leaned in and kissed her soft lips, and she let him. His entire body filled up with joy; this kiss was different than the last. This was sweet and lingering, as though neither of them wanted it to end. He felt the curvature of her lips with his tongue and inhaled her beautiful scent, memorizing it, holding onto it. He kissed the corner of her mouth, then her cheek, then her ear lobe. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, all the while wondering why he was being so loving. Because it's her birthday, he tried to make excuses with himself.

Bulma slowly placed her hands in his spiky hair and deepened their kiss, kissing his chin and jaw. She couldn't believe this was happening and more that she was utterly enjoying it. His hands found their way to her waist, and he pulled her even closer to him, guiding her down to lie down on her bed. He picked up her hand and kissed it, like a prince would kiss his princess. He pulled her head down onto his chest and, with his other hand, turned off the light.

"Goodnight, woman."

When Bulma awoke the next morning, Vegeta was no longer there. She thought of the previous night and touched her lips, wondering if it had just been a dream. Then, she rolled over in bed to see the beautiful blue orchid on her night table and smiled. It had all been real. He really had treated her as a princess on her birthday. And then she realized it was her birthday. Her eighteenth birthday. And, she screamed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" She yelled and leaped out of her bed, suddenly feeling very energized. Vegeta came running into her room and looked at her with an alarmed expression.

"What the fuck is going on in here, woman?!"

She cracked up. "Nothing! I just realized...I'm eighteen."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned to return to his training, but Bulma ran up to him and grabbed his arm to turn him around to face her. He looked at her confusedly, and she kissed him. Without registering what was occurring, he picked her up and kissed her more deeply, grabbing her skimpy night gown in one hand and pulling it off without thinking twice. She giggled. He threw her on her bed and fell on top of her, letting his hands wander all over her body. He grabbed her breast with his hand and started pinching her nipple with his fingers. She let out of a soft moan and writhed under his body. He kissed her chest, and his hands traveled down her body slowly and found its way in between her legs. He yanked off her underwear, and she gasped. His fingers slid over her wet entrance, teasing her. She grabbed handfuls of his hair frustratedly, as if begging him to go further. He decided he would tease her further and removed his hand and cupped her cheek, kissing her and biting her lip hungrily. She frowned against his lips, and he snickered.

"Vegeta...please..." she whispered into his ear, and he shuddered at how aroused he was in that moment.

His hand moved back down to her entrance, and he thrust two fingers inside her when she was least expecting it, loving the spark of sheer ecstasy in her eyes. He rubbed her and thrust his fingers inside her, and she yelped with pleasure. He silenced her moans with his lips, though he loved them. He loved the way he was making her feel. Suddenly, she pushed him over and started kissing down his chest.

He ran his fingers through her hair. As she kissed his belly button, his eyes shot open, and he realized what they were doing. He gently pushed her off of him, and she looked at him with annoyance lighting up her cerulean eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" She snapped.

"Woman, we can't...Not like this. It's not right. I'm not...into you like that," he lied. "I don't want you to get attached, or something. Let's just focus on finding the Dragon Balls, okay?"

"What's your deal, bud?"

"I have no deal, I just don't believe getting sexually involved with you would be good, considering the mission we're on at the moment. I don't need any distractions."

"Oh, so I'm just a distraction to you? That's all? I can't believe I was so stupid!" She got up to run to the lab. Her work was the only thing that would make her feel better in that moment.

"Bulma!" He yelled, following her out of the room. He caught up to her and forced her to look at him. "It's your birthday. Let's do something."

"Wow, do you really think I'm gonna do something with you? Get your ugly mug out of my face!" She then proceeded to burst out laughing at her insult causing Vegeta to roll his eyes at her, something that he had been doing quite frequently lately.

"Woman, shut up. I'll take you to dinner, if it'll stop your incessant whining about my rudeness, or whatever. Be ready for eight. And, not any later than that!" He glared at her for a little bit too long before turning abruptly on his heel and returning to his training. He was hoping he could spend the day dealing with his feelings for the woman, and then, after dinner, they could go to a club in the nearby town, and then he could make out with some random girl to ensure that his feelings for Bulma were completely terminated.

Bulma hmph'd angrily at the retreating Vegeta and made her way back into the tech lab. She was almost done with the radar, as it turned out. It ended up taking much less time than she had expected. She just had to adjust a few wires here and there and insert the front panel, and it would be complete. Her work would be complete in a few hours' time. And, with this tool, she would see if the Dragon Balls truly existed or not. Nothing would show up on the screen when she turned the radar on if they didn't exist. She found herself truly hoping that they did exist, for Vegeta's sake. He didn't admit to much emotion, but she knew in her heart how much he missed his mother and what he would change about his behavior if he could see her again.

A few hours later, Bulma adjusted the front panel and placed the cover of the radar into its position and then pressed the 'on' button. The screen blinked for a few moments, and then, to her delight, the words "Locating nearby Dragon Balls, please wait" appeared on the screen. Then, a blinking dot appeared, showing that the closest Dragon Ball was near the base of Mount Fuji. That was a good two hours drive from where they were at the moment, but it didn't matter at all. The Dragon Balls existed! They could bring back Mrs. Ryuu! Bulma couldn't believe that such an old myth and legend was actually true, and her genius mind was the one to bring light to the new revelation.

She grabbed the radar quickly and sprinted to the training room, thrusting it in Vegeta's hands when she saw him. He looked down on it and for a moment, his eyes showed emotion, as they widened with excitement and hope. He looked at Bulma and studied her face.

"Congratulations, woman, you've finally done something useful," he celebrated monotonously, giving her his usual smirk.

She smacked him on the arm.

"Fine," he continued quickly. "Thank you."

"I can't believe you just thanked someone for something, bud. I should honestly go alert the media, I don't think this'll ever happen again."

"We'll leave tomorrow afternoon. Do you have clothes here?" Bulma nodded. "Okay, bring some. Don't bring too many though, I don't need to bother with your heavy luggage. But, I don't know how long we'll be gone."

"Got it!"

"Okay, go get ready, it's almost eight. And, try to look like someone worthy to be in my presence."

Bulma groaned before retreating to her bedroom.

Bulma and Vegeta had just finished dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and he had bought her a cupcake and all the waiters had sang "Happy Birthday" for her. They were now en route to the only club in the town that was closest to Dr. Briefs' secret lab in the mountains. Each had agreed that they would give each other their space while they partied in the club, as they would be spending a lot of time together for the next week or so. Too much time, as Vegeta had phrased it. However, despite their bickering, their dinner together had been lovely, for their standards, and their waiter even thought that they were a couple.

They entered the club that was blaring loud music and headed over to the bar. Vegeta handed Bulma a glass of birthday champagne, and she gently swayed to beat. They sat in silence and both inspected the people that sat or danced around them. Vegeta spied a black haired girl dancing on the corner of the dance floor and motioned to Bulma that he would see her later. As she saw him walk towards the unknown girl, she felt a pang of jealousy. She knew he was just honoring their deal, but she liked spending time with him, if she were honest with herself. The idea of spending the next week alone with him did not bother her at all. But, by his suggestion to spend that night separately, Bulma concluded that her presence must indeed bother him, and she could not help but let her sadness get the better of her. She turned around to order another glass of champagne but was interrupted by a tall man with piercing green eyes.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked her and smiled at her kindly. She grinned back at him.

"One glass of champagne?"

"Of course," he replied. He turned to the bartender, "One glass of champagne for the beautiful lady." The bartender groaned to himself and poured Bulma another glass of the bubbly liquid. He handed it to her, and she thanked him.

"What's your name?" He asked her, sitting down on the stool next to hers. She looked him over some more, noticing that he was extremely attractive. He had tousled, dark brown hair and blindingly white toothed smile. By looking in his eyes, Bulma could tell he had a good heart and that was all she could really ask for in a person.

"Bulma, and yours?"

"Daiki, but everyone just calls me Dai."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Dai. Thanks for the champagne."

"No problem, Bulma. Now, any reason you look so beautiful tonight, or is this just a regular thing?"

Bulma laughed at his corniness. "It's my birthday actually!"

"Oh, wow! Happy birthday!"

They continued talking for about an hour. Bulma really liked Dai, as their conversation progressed. He was lighthearted and easy to talk to, all that Vegeta wasn't. He made her laugh and feel good about herself. And, after about two hours of conversing and drinking more champagne, Bulma found herself agreeing to step outside with him, which could only mean one thing. Little did she know, Vegeta had ditched the black haired girl from earlier and was watching Bulma from a distance, telling himself it was only to make sure she didn't get into trouble but knew at heart it was because he was jealous of this character with the green eyes who kept buying his woman champagne. The woman, not my woman, Vegeta reminded himself. As he saw Dai and Bulma get up to leave the club, his heart rate increased dramatically. Where could they possibly be going? It wasn't even that loud in the club, and they had been talking for a while now, so their departure wasn't for the benefit of their conversation. She wouldn't with this idiot, would she? She couldn't.

"You're just one of a kind, Bulma. I've never met someone even close to as smart or awesome as you are," Dai told her, looking down on the beautiful, blue haired girl. She blushed and pushed his shoulder jokingly.

"Oh, stop, you're too nice to me, Dai," she said, laughing. He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her closer to him and kissed her. She was surprised initially but found herself enjoying the embrace. Like his personality, his kisses were easy with no strings attached. Bulma knew, while she had fun getting to know Dai, that she would not miss him tomorrow, and that was a comforting thought. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her more into him, before hearing a shout come from behind him.

Vegeta yanked Dai away from Bulma's embrace and punched him directly in the nose, causing him to fall onto the ground. He then proceeded to kick Dai's side, and the blood from his nose spread all over his face. Vegeta then kneeled down and grabbed Dai by his tie, pulling him up slightly. "Stay away from her," he said through his teeth.

Bulma freaked out and grabbed Vegeta's arm and hauled him up. She slapped him across the face twice as hard as she had smacked him earlier that day. "What in Kami's name are you doing, Vegeta?!" He removed his arm from her grasp and turned to walk towards his car.

"Let's go, woman," he said quietly.

"No! I'm not leaving him like this, and I'm most definitely not going anywhere near you. Are you fucking insane? Why the hell would you do that?! I don't wanna be near you...you...you psychopath!" She turned away from him and tried to help Dai up, who was still suffering due to his bleeding nose. She got him to sit up on a nearby bench, and he looked at her exasperatedly.

"Is that your boyfriend or something?" He asked her, wiping his nose with his sleeve, not caring that it was entirely red at this point.

Bulma shook her head. "No...He's not my boyfriend. He just gets a little possessive sometimes. I'm sorry I dragged you into this..."

"It's fine, Bulma."

"Are you gonna be okay? I think I need to...head out now. Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"I'll be fine. Go deal with your boyfriend."

"He's not my-"

"I heard you the first time."

She looked at him one last time and gave him a kiss on the cheek before returning to Vegeta, who looked as though he was about to blow up the entire planet.

They rode in silence all the way back to the lab. When they finally reached the lab, Bulma slammed the car door and sped walked to her room immediately, not giving Vegeta the satisfaction of another moment of her time. Just as she was about to slam the door, she heard his raspy voice from behind her.

"I don't understand you, woman!"

Bulma whipped around and looked at him with as much hate as she could muster. "You don't understand me? Are you a fucking joke? You tell me earlier that you don't want to do anything with me because you're not into me, or whatever, and then the moment I show interest in another guy, you beat them up! I can't even began to tell you how fucking MAD I AM! I THINK YOU'RE ACTUALLY INSANE!"

"FUCK OFF, WOMAN. I HAD MY REASONS."

"OH, PLEASE," Bulma continued yelling, putting her hands in her hair to show off all her frustrations. They had taken a few considerable steps closer to each other at this point. "PLEASE, ENLIGHTEN ME. WHAT ARE THESE SO CALLED REASONS?"

Vegeta kissed her, sliding his tongue easily into her mouth, shutting up her yelling. She reciprocated with so much force, ripping his suit jacket and button down off, kissing, licking, and biting his muscular chest. She buried her face into his neck and kissed him there. He yanked her head back and kissed down her throat, stopping at the peak of her left breast. He pulled off her little black dress with ease and paused for a moment to examine the beauty of her body. He wanted her so badly he couldn't even breathe. He undressed her completely and attacked her nipples, licking, sucking, and kneading them expertly, making her thrash and moan with delight. She undid his belt and felt him grow at her touch, when she placed her hand on his underwear. She tore them off and let him stretch to his full size. He found her entrance and thrust inside her, and she dug her nails into his toned back.

It would be a long night.

Wow, okay, so chapter six is done! This one was a little bit heated, sorry to anyone who wasn't expecting such explicit language. Next time: they leave for Mount Fuji to find the first Dragon Ball, and there is a lot of tension! Please keep reviewing! Love you guys!