Bulma stared at her wounded Saiyan warrior, unable to describe her feelings. Relief that he'd finally woken up, irritation at his attitude, fear that she'd almost lost him, and an uneasy feeling that she shouldn't care if she HAD lost him. Only, she did care. Her nerves were shot waiting for him to come around after the explosion.
She was so wrapped up in her inner turmoil, it was a few moments before she realized what he was doing.
Bulma straightened up in alarm. "Vegeta! You are NOT going to get up!"
The Saiyan sneered, though his face was pasty and sweating. He'd managed to pull himself up out of supine and was sitting on the edge of the bed. Every muscle in his body ached but he was not going to let his mate see him as weak.
"You stupid man!" Bulma hissed, rushing to his side. She reached for his shoulder and he slapped her hand away. "Stop it! You are not well yet!" She reached out to push his shoulder and he grabbed her hand instead.
Vegeta groaned, then stopped and winced. He eyed her a moment and then deliberately sat forward as if to stand.
She tried to shove him with her free hand and he tried to catch himself, but found to his horror that he was falling backwards. But he held onto her as he did so. Bulma squealed as she felt herself pulled forward, suddenly landing inelegantly on top of him. Vegeta groaned in pain and sputtered as he tried to catch his breath.
Horrified, the young woman rolled off of the injured male, anxiously running her wide blue eyes all over him. "That was a stupid thing to do!" She berated him, irritated beyond belief.
Vegeta blinked up at her, then let his gaze shift away. He frowned. "Daisies are a strange thing to hang over someone's sick bed. Earth customs are weird."
Bulma ignored the comment, knowing her mother was using the daisies as a summer substitute for mistletoe. That was something she was loathe to admit to Vegeta of all people! Kissing was bad. Kissing was dangerous! This whole irritating mess started because of a kiss! No more kissing!
"Why are you angry, woman?" Vegeta eyed his mate carefully, she was glowering.
"I'm not angry!" She denied with a vengeance that belied her words.
The Saiyan watched her carefully. "You look angry."
Bulma didn't want to admit that she'd been worried about him, so she changed the subject. "Hungry?" She asked him.
Vegeta hadn't been aware of being hungry, but the moment she mentioned it his stomach growled loudly. "Yes. I must of have missed lunch."
Shaking her head at him, Bulma moved her desk and opened up a capsule corps box. She tossed two small capsules on the desk and a covered tray appeared out of the small puff of smoke. "You missed lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch dinner, breakfast, and lunch again. Times three." She prattled on as she readied the tray.
Vegeta frowned. "This is not the day the gravity room exploded?" He asked, appalled.
Bulma shook her head. "Three and a half days." She sighed and rolled her shoulders. Three and a half days of wondering if her Saiyan was ever going to wake up again. Her eyes felt watery and she made a mental note not to have the R&D guys put so much pepper in the beef soup next time. Even as she thought it, she knew she was lying only to herself.
"Gah!" Vegeta struggled to sit back up, clutching his right side as he winced. "I've wasted three and a half days? I need to get back to training immediately! Where are my clothes, mate?"
"Shredded to bitty pieces by the big bad explosion that nearly killed you." Bulma cooed in a deliberately annoying manner. "And you need to get your strength back. Here's some food." With that, she put the tray of food on the small table beside his bed.
Silence.
Vegeta stared at the bowl of soup in disgust. One bowl? For as hungry as he felt? And SOUP? Where was the meat and protein that he needed? Where were the carbs his body craved right now? And the nourishing vegetables he would surely need to consume in great quantities?
Bulma watched, almost amused as he looked at the bowl, then looked behind her at the desk to see if there were any more trays of food. She didn't even wait for him to ask. "You are convalescing, this is what your body needs."
Vegeta scowled as he watched his mate pick up the spoon and dip it in the hot liquid. "This is not food, woman!" But she popped the spoon in his mouth right as he was still talking. He automatically swallowed and glared at her.
She glared right back.
"You've been out of it for days, DAYS! Vegeta, you need to start slowly and not overload your system! Now, you need to eat this." Bulma kept her voice even-tempered and almost sweet. But it was still an order.
"Another of your so-called rules?" Vegeta snarled, then coughed as she stuck another spoonful of soup in his mouth. "STOP THAT, WOMAN!"
"Tastes good, though, right?" Bulma smiled and for the first time Vegeta saw that there were dark circles under her eyes. He paused and she offered him another bite of soup. It was tasty, and he was hungry. He opened his mouth for her, but didn't take his eyes from her face.
Bulma gave him a few more bites, smiling encouragingly. Her free hand reached out and smoothed out an errant lock of her hair. Vegeta's eyes narrowed. She looked paler than usual. He growled and her hand stopped in mid air, the spoon hanging there.
Vegeta reached out and took the spoon from her. "I can feed myself, woman." But there were no bite to his words. He nodded towards her. "Were you injured in the explosion?"
Bulma shook her head and shrugged. "No."
His eyes narrowed. "Woman ..." He drew out the word as a warning.
"I'm fine, Vegeta." She stopped as she watched him purse his lips as if angry again. "What now?"
The Saiyan took a few more bites, this silly soup really was quite tasty. "You don't call me correctly."
Bulma frowned. Call him? Correctly? She thought about her words. "I'm not allowed to call you Vegeta? Or do I need to say 'your highness', or 'almighty Prince' or something?"
The Saiyan ignored her as he finished his soup. His stomach growled again. Bulma took out another capsule and produced another steaming bowl. Vegeta grunted in approval and dug in quickly.
"What? No thank you?" She asked sarcastically.
The Saiyan grunted again and kept eating.
"Vegeta ..." She drawled out his name deliberately. Like hell she was going to call him Prince or anything like that!
He ignored her.
Bulma fumed, tapping one foot. Of all the things in this world that she hated ...this world? How about on ANY world! She did NOT like being ignored.
Playing it dangerously, she snatched food away from a hungry Saiyan.
A loud growl was her only warning before her hand was snagged and she was tugged off balance, landing on the bed where a certain male rolled on top of her. The bowl of half-eaten soup spilled all over the floor. She had a moment of panic, and then anger overrode all sense of danger.
"VEGETA!" She slapped his shoulder where there were no bandages.
"That is not how you should call me!" He roared directly into her face.
She crossed her eyes and childishly stuck out her tongue at him.
The Saiyan groaned. "Woman!"
"I am not calling you Prince Vegeta or Your Highness! How about I just call you man!" She glared at him.
His gaze softened. "It would be preferable."
Caught off balance, she blinked three times rapidly. "What? Prince?"
Vegeta shook his head. "I am your man, you should call me so."
Bulma tried to swallow, but her mouth was suddenly bone dry. He wasn't looking for her to call him by an official title, but a more intimate one. Her gaze softened and so did her resolve, but only for a moment. She gritted her teeth and ordered her body to ignore the hard muscled male on top of her.
"That is not Earth custom."
"Yes it is." Vegeta pinned her with a long look. "Your mother calls your father 'dear'. Is it not the same?"
"They're married!" She pushed at him, but he didn't budge.
Vegeta stared at her a long moment. "So are we." He said finally.
.III
"Do you think the daisies are working?" Bulma's mother bustled around the small table and refilled her husband's tea cup.
"Are they broken?" Dr. Brief's asked, not paying attention at all as he sketched out a schematic for a complicated multi-articulated joint that would soon be placed inside reinforced tubing, which in turn would be used to help rebuild the gravity room.
Bulma's mother whisked away an empty plate that had held the good doctor's lunch. Trilling laughter followed in her wake. "I hope not dear. But if anyone could fix the daisies, I'm sure it would be you!"
Dr. Brief's nodded. "Thank you, my dear." He finished the schematic with a small flourish of his hand. "I'll fix the desktop later. I promise."
"Why? What's wrong with the vacuum?" Bubbled the petite blond, but when she turned back toward the table her husband was already heading toward his workshop.
"Desktop, darling. Not vacuum." Dr. Brief's smiled at his pretty wife. "Desktop. Isn't that what you were asking me to fix?"
The blond nodded. "Of course darling!" She moved back to the table to clear off the remaining dishes. "It's amazing how often things break around here. I had no idea both the desktop and the vacuum were broken."
.III
Bulma didn't know how to respond. She watched as Vegeta pushed the soft curls of her hair away from her face. "We... we're not really married." It was almost a whisper.
He frowned, his voice a rough rumble of sound. "By the traditions of my race, we are."
"Not of mine." Her voice was a bit stronger this time.
Vegeta frowned, then nodded. "How long before the gravity room is repaired?"
Bulma scowled at him, a lot more strength in her voice this time. "REBUILT! Not repaired! You destroyed it in your little suicide attempt!"
The Saiyan frowned sharply. "I was training!"
"If that's what you want to call it you horrible man!" She shoved him, then blanched as he groaned with pain and caught his breath.
Bulma scrambled out from under him and pushed and prodded until he was lying back on the bed. Vegeta stared up at the ceiling and scowled at the daisies hanging there.
The Saiyan blinked at the flowers and then realized where he was lying. He growled at Bulma. "Mate, I need to get up to train."
"I'd kill you first." She hissed, one hand planted firmly on his chest.
He smiled at her.
She scowled. "I threatened you and you seem happy?"
"You almost sounded Saiyan for a moment." He told her bluntly.
Bulma heard something in his voice and jumped to conclusions. "You ...you wish I were a Saiyan, don't you?"
Vegeta frowned. What was she saying?
"That there was still a plant full of Saiyan women." She felt tears prick the back of her eyes. How could she have forgotten the tragedy of his being nearly the last of his race?
The irritating man started laughing.
Annoyed to say the least, Bulma started to climb out of bed. But the Saiyan wrapped one arm around her and wounded or not, he was strong enough to keep her from moving any further away from him.
"It's not funny!" Fumed the turquoise-haired woman.
Vegeta blinked at her, and let the laugher fade away naturally. Finally he touched her nose with his free hand. "When does the no-sex rule go into effect?"
Bulma frowned in alarm. "You can't have sex now! You're not strong enough!" She knew it was a mistake the moment the words left her mouth.
The Saiyan's eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared and his hands pulled her close to his body. "When? When does it go into effect ...mate." He emphasized the last word deliberately.
He didn't want her to be formal? Pft. Fine. Bulma smiled with a false sweetness. "Your highness, Prince Vegeta of the Saiyan's? The rule is already in effect!"
The wounded warrior grinned in triumph. "Good. I just want to make sure so that I can break it as soon as possible." He nipped at her nose, making her squeak in protest. "And as often as possible."
.III
"I need to get my recipe for grilled tuna from the desktop, darling!"
Dr. Briefs blinked, looked up at the door to his study. "Did you forget the password again?"
Bulma's mother, twirled one blond curl with her finger. "Of course not! I'm just waiting for you to fix the desktop."
The doctor nodded and walked over to the computer unit. He tapped a code and the machine whirred smoothly to life. He frowned. "It seems fine to me."
The delighted blond clapped her hands. "You've fixed it! How marvelous!" She kissed Dr. Briefs all over his face, making the man blush in pleasure and forget to correct her that the computer had never been broken in the first place.
.III
Bulma's mind flew like quicksilver. She craned her head back and looked over at her desk and mentally counted backwards.
In that position, her bared neck was right in front of Vegeta's eyes. He grinned.
"OUCH!" Bulma scowled and tugged at the dark hair of the Saiyan who was currently biting her neck. "That was almost healed!"
Vegeta ignored her palms slapping at his shoulders, until she inadvertently hit a recent wound. He groaned and stiffened up.
Bulma froze. "Oh Vegeta, I'm so sorry!"
Pushing back the pain with supreme willpower, the Saiyan forced himself to relax.
"But I was trying to make you stop, I didn't mean to hurt you!"
He cleared his throat. "Just to be clear, a Saiyan woman would have done that on purpose and would have enjoyed it."
Bulma frowned. "I don't like the sound of your Saiyan women."
Vegeta gave her a quick grin. "Neither did the Saiyan men."
Shocked, Bulma stared at him, her blue eyes wide with wonder. "Huh?"
Vegeta took advantage and dipped his head down to steal a long kiss. He frowned slightly though, his woman may have been right in that he might not be strong enough to finish what he was trying to start. His muscles felt weak and shaky. He scowled. This would not do.
When the dratted male claiming to be her husband finally let her come up for air, Bulma put her hand on his shoulder to keep him back. Not that it could have stopped him, but she was trying to make the effort.
Kiss-stung lips. Vegeta smiled, liking the look of wonder on his mate's face. He suddenly yawned widely. This made him growl in disbelief. How could he be so weak? It was only one little explosion!
Bulma looked over at the clock again and quickly asked her question, to stall the next kiss and out of major curiosity. "So, is that why your race were conquerors and explorers? To get away from your women?"
Vegeta shook his head. "No. That is simply part of our nature, male and female alike." He yawned again, this time he could almost hear the creaking of the mandible joint.
"So why don't your males like your females?" Bulma frowned. "Did you marry outside your species a lot? Maybe there are a lot of Saiyan children running around out there!"
But the Prince of the Saiyans shook his head, trying to clear the foggy feeling stealing over him. "No. We never went outside our own race. Until now. Saiyan women aren't very nice, but they were the only ones that could handle mating with us. Other races were too fragile."
"You think I'm too fragile?" Bulma asked, curious. "That I can't manage to handle you?"
Vegeta nodded. "You can't help it."
She smiled. "And only Saiyan women could manage Saiyan men?"
He nodded again, wondering why there was darkness eating away at his vision.
Bulma kissed his forehead as he slumped down on the bed. "Well this fragile Earth woman MANAGED to handle you just fine." She whispered as his eyes started to close. "And the drug I slipped you in that first bowl of soup should help you sleep and heal for a good twelve hours."
Vegeta's eyes went wide for a moment in shock, before he slipped away into complete slumber.
Bulma sighed at the small victory, knowing the battle was far from over. She started to slip away from the bed and the gently snoring male. Her foot touched the ground and she slipped backwards with a small shriek, shaking the bed as she fell.
She'd slipped on the spilled soup!
Bulma froze as Vegeta groaned and mumbled. She stared at him a long moment, then nodded in satisfaction. He was out cold. Good. Served him right, she'd known she would have to drug him once she realized he wasn't going to listen to reason and stay in bed to heal like a sane person.
The young woman studied the face in front of her for a long moment. Asleep, Vegeta lost that habitual sneer of his. His face smoothed out. No anger and no sarcasm. He should look sweet, but he didn't. Bulma frowned, considering. Then she smiled ruefully. He was too cute for words, but he was also too handsome and chiseled to ever look 'sweet', even in slumber.
"Goodnight sweet Prince." Bulma couldn't resist as she leaned forward and kissed his lips.
Then she froze as she heard the creak of the door behind her.
Bulma spun and spied her mother. Who must see a half-dressed Saiyan on a bed with her daughter who was kissing him! "Oh! Mom!" She tried to explain. "It's not what ..."
Her bubbly and vivacious mother squealed with delight, stopping Bulma cold. "Huh?"
"Oh my dear!" Her mother cooed. "The daisies do work!"
Chagrined and blushing, Bulma looked up at the daisies over the bed and then down at the sleeping Prince. "Huh. How about that." She muttered darkly.
.III
Behold, the awesome power of daisies! LOL. Hope you enjoyed!