Author's Note: Wooh! Chapter eight. :D I'm so excited because I love this series so far. I'm not really too sure how I feel about this one. I've always had this idea in my head that the way Bulma interpreted love and the way Vegeta did were completely different. Her way was completely human, and his way was completely Saiyan, and the two ultimately clash against one another. Vegeta, not being the most vocal of men, could only explain it with the truth and make it so Bulma could understand. So I hope that's what I portrayed here. xD.

Let me know what you guys think! I love hearing from you guys, and thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed so far. It really means a lot to me. You guys are awesome! (:

Website: ay-vb . sakura . ne . jp/_top . html
1. Erase the spaces between the words and the periods. Obviously. xD.
2. The website is in Japanese, but that's okay. At the top there is a list of words in English. Click on GALLERY.
3. Left hand panel is a bunch of words, in Japanese. But the numbers 365 are obviously numerical so you can read them. Click it.
4. There's now a drop hand box thingy to the left, and again the numbers are numerical so don't worry about not being able to read the title of the picture. Just follow along with the numbers. Click number EIGHT for this drabble!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything related to it. All of that belongs to Akira Toriyama, and I am just playing around with them. I also do not own the FanArt that I am using for this drabble series. I'm not quite sure who made them, because I can't read Japanese. But I'm sure the name is on the website somewhere and the pictures belong to him/her/them. Whoever. xD. I am just using the pics for inspiration.

Like Clockwork (365 Days)

Day 008: Culture Shock

It was a good thing that Bulma wasn't a Saiyan; because when it came her temper she had absolutely no control. When she was angry she would scream, throw things, punch whoever was closest to her, and attempt to make everyone around her as miserable as she was. Her current victim was none other than Vegeta, who was sitting on the edge of their bed and wishing that Bulma would just shut up and allow him to sleep. The couple had started arguing more than an hour ago, and the prince was over it.

"Jeez, I'm not asking you to confess your love for me to the entire world. It would just be nice if every once in a while you would show me. I don't understand why you can't understand that," Bulma protested once more, laying flat on her back behind Vegeta, completely frustrated. Vegeta snorted and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and willing his headache to go away.

"Show you? You don't want me to show you, you want me to repeat three human words that I don't agree with," he shot right back. "I would think that with how smart you claim you are, you would understand that. I cannot, and I do not, understand the concept of your human 'love'. It's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard in my life."

"Ugh! How could you say that when you have no idea what it means?" she asked him, crossing her arms. Vegeta was silent for a moment while he took in a deep breath, his irritation level rising.

"I don't have to experience something to see it, woman. You claim that this love has several levels to it. It can be between friends, family, or lovers. You tell me it's the feeling of happiness and contentment you get when you're with someone, or how you constantly think of them and you want them with you. How you're sad when they're sad, scared when they're scared, and happy when they're happy. Correct?" Vegeta asked, his voice rough with annoyance.

"Yes, and you're telling me that you can't tell me that you feel those things for me?" she asked accusingly, propping herself up on her forearms to look at him. He wasn't facing her, so she couldn't see his face, but his body was as stiff as a board.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you, because if I'm not mistaken, you and scar face were once 'in love' were you not? Where is he now?" Vegeta snapped, turning his head to face her. She went completely still and mustered up the meanest glare she could.

"Vegeta, that's not fair," she started. "Yamcha and I were in love. Past tense. That's not-" she started, only to be cut off by a deep growl coming from the prince.

"Pathetic! There should not be a past tense. Ugh, I don't know why I'm having this conversation with you. If you want 'love' so much maybe you should go retrieve the weakling," Vegeta said heatedly, hoping that the woman got his point. Bulma stared at him with wide eyes, feeling a burning sensation behind them. She blinked back tears and let out a breath of air, lying down on her back again and staring up at the ceiling. The two were quiet for a minute while Bulma sorted her thoughts, and then she just got mad. With a yell she started to viciously kick Vegeta's back over and over again.

"You are such an idiot! I don't want Yamcha you ass! I want you! And I want to know that you want me!" she yelled out, a few tears escaping and running down her face. The kicking, obviously, didn't hurt Vegeta. But the thought behind the action pissed Vegeta off as he turned and grabbed her ankles so fast Bulma didn't even see him move. With a growl he yanked her closer to him, her legs now around his waist as he changed his grip from her ankles to her wrist, holding them above her head and looming over her with a snarl.

"You have no understanding, do you?" he asked between clenched teeth, not waiting for an answer. "You and I are mates by Saiyan standard, which is the better standard than your stupid 'love'. As long as there is breath in me there will never, ever be another. No matter how much you piss me off, no matter how stupid your arguments get, no matter how much trouble you are, you are the one," Vegeta explained, getting angrier by the second. Bulma had gone slightly wide-eyed and her mouth slightly agape, listening intently to the angry Saiyan above her. "You and I belong to each other in body, heart, mind, and soul. If anyone were to try and change that, I would kill them. Do you understand? You are mine, and only mine."

Bulma stared at Vegeta for a long while, neither saying anything. There was no hidden agenda in Vegeta's eyes, and to be honest, there wasn't even any romance there. Bulma watched in astonishment as she realized that he wasn't trying to be sweet or romantic. He wasn't trying to console her or soothe her with reassurance of how he felt. Vegeta had of course told Bulma that she was his on several occasions, but she assumed it was just a possession thing. Staring hard into his onyx eyes she could see now that the possession was only a part of it, and a very small part at that. Love didn't translate in the Saiyan language or their culture; it wasn't as stable or as pure as the bond between two life mates. And without even realizing it, Vegeta had said the sweetest thing that anyone has ever said to Bulma without even trying to, without that even being his intention. He was just explaining the difference, and why his concept of 'love' would never match a human's concept of the same word.

"Yours…" she breathed out, blinking back tears once more, rotating her wrist that was still in Vegeta's hands and trying to get him to let go. After a second he did, and stood up, her legs still around his waist.

"Mine," he told her, staring down at her. His anger had diffused a bit, but he was still incredibly annoyed. With a sigh Bulma sat up and wrapped her arms around Vegeta's torso, laying her head directly over his heart. Vegeta tensed at the contact and looked down at her in confusion, wondering what the hell she was up to.

"Mine," she repeated, her lips tracing over the skin on his chest. She pressed a kiss over his heart and traced meaningless circles on his back. "Mine," she said a little louder, and with more strength. Vegeta stared at her for a moment and sighed, amazed that she actually understood what he was saying. It wasn't the first time they had this argument, and he sincerely hoped this would be the last time.

"Yours," he told her, running a hand through her hair and pulling her head back. Leaning down, he pulled her into a heated kiss and pressed her body into his. Bulma kissed him back, her head spinning and her heart feeling like it was going to burst inside of her chest. Her frustration completely gone, and the only thing left inside of her was complete happiness and peace. Not to mention unabashed lust that Vegeta was stirring within her, pushing her back onto the bed the Saiyan climbed on top of her, never breaking their kiss.