CHAPTER TWO

"Sweetie, are you alright?"

Bulma lifted her head to look at her mother, before returning her eyes to the meal she had been pondering over for the last twenty minutes rather than eating. It had been almost a month since Yamucha had left, and she had missed him. They had never been apart this long without any type of communication. She kept telling herself that the separation had been for the best, but she had never felt so lonely.

"I'll be fine, Mom." Bulma replied, trying to figure out if that was a lie or not. With a frustrated sigh, she pushed her plate away. She wasn't even hungry anyway. Her mother moved behind her and gave her shoulders a gentle rub. "Just stay positive." she instructed Bulma with her cheery voice, who couldn't help but crack a small smile. Bunny was the queen of positive thinking, and couldn't seem to think horribly of anyone, no matter what kind of past they had. She had even taken a shine to Vegeta out of all people, something Bulma had believed to be almost impossible.

It was then that the warrior himself walked into the kitchen, and as she watched him enter, Bulma could tell that he looked quite tired and worn out. Which was never good. Vegeta had a sore attitude and quite a temper on him, but when he was weary it seemed to just escalate to the point where his remarks would almost make her tear out her aqua hair strand by strand.

"I require a meal." he stated gruffly, looking at both the women, and Bulma's jaw almost dropped to the floor. The nerve of him to speak to them in such a manner! Her mother, on the other hand, gave him one of her trademark smiles, showing all of her pristine white teeth. "Coming right up!" she chirped, moving away from Bulma and back into the kitchen, pulling out an array of ingredients and utensils. Bulma simply rolled her eyes at Vegeta. And people thought she was spoiled.

"Oh dear, it seems like we're all out of rice!" her mother cried, raising her hands to her face with despair. "I'll have to ask your father to go to the store." And with that, Bunny hurried from the room, giving her daughter a wink as she left, which luckily Bulma had not noticed, as she and Vegeta were too busy glaring daggers at each other.

"I haven't seen your pathetic boyfriend around lately." Vegeta stated, raising a thick eyebrow at Bulma. "I don't suppose it would have anything to do with me." Bulma's initial surprise of Vegeta trying to strike up a conversation was replaced with an intense rage that began to boil inside. She clenched her fists in an attempt to control her feelings. "Well you did kill him once." she replied in a steady voice, closing her eyes in an effort to calm down.

"Oh yes. That I remember well." Vegeta remarked, a smirk appearing on his lips. "What a weakling."

Before he could say anything else insulting, Bulma flew off her chair, moved towards him and in one swift move, landed the strongest punch she could muster in his face and caught him off-guard. He stumbled backwards slightly before quickly grabbing her wrists, and glaring at her with steel eyes. How dare a woman strike him! He had half a mind to return the favour. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, woman?"

Bulma lowered her eyes to the floor as they began to brim with tears. "We're no longer together. Therefore he has no reason to be here." she said simply, slowly returning her eyes to meet his, and he was surprised as the tears began to flow down her cheeks. "Happy now?" In a moment of conflicting feelings, Vegeta let her wrists go, and took a step back from her. This wasn't the infuriating, persistent woman who had continually pestered him over the past year. This woman was entirely different.

Normally, Bulma was as stubborn and head-strong as himself, but now she seemed vulnerable, fragile. Vegeta didn't like this side of her. He preferred the fiery and domineering aqua-haired woman who never seemed to back down from anyone. The one that he had to admit he liked to verbally spar against.

Bulma didn't notice that Vegeta was watching her with curiosity, she was too busy trying to control her emotions. She sniffed loudly, and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress angrily. She hated that Vegeta had seen her like this, upset and whiny. She wasn't one to have emotions like this, and she was normally good at keeping them under wrap. She returned her gaze to meet his, narrowing her eyebrows together.

"What are you looking at?" she asked him rudely, and Vegeta couldn't help but smirk a little to himself. It seemed that the woman had returned to her normal self, but still he had seen that lapse of emotion and was unsure of the weird feeling it gave him. He didn't give her a reply to her answer, he instead looked to the doorway in which her mother had exited only moments before.

"When will this food be ready?" he inquired, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "I'm hungry. So start cooking, woman." That pushed Bulma over the edge, and the anger that had been boiling just under her skin burst.

"For the last time, my name is BULMA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, causing Vegeta's eyes to grow wide. He had really done it now. "I let you stay here, after everything you have put my friends through – including killing quite a few of them. My father has built a training chamber for you, gadgets, programs, everything you have wished for. Even after you blew up the first chamber and almost killed yourself, we re-built it and nursed you back to health. We have clothed you, fed you, and you have not once thanked me or my family for our hospitality."

She took in a deep breath then, happy that she had finally gotten it all of her chest. She had never bargained for Vegeta to be so difficult, not after all that she had done for him. Especially as he seemed intent on killing one of her closest and dearest friends – it seemed to be all he ever talked about, unless it was the impending battle with the androids or training.

Bulma returned to her uneaten meal, now feeling much more hungry than before. She tried to ignore the pestering gaze from Vegeta, who didn't seem to know how to mind his own business, although he often asked others to mind theirs. Hypocrite. Bulma couldn't help but smile into her plate. He certainly was an odd creature, so arrogant and stubborn, and yet there seemed to be another layer underneath all of that muscle, hidden away under lock and key.

Vegeta continued to watch her, trying to figure her out for himself. Such a peculiar species, the human female. They seemed to able to switch from one emotion to the next with a snap of their fingers, and never seemed to be happy with anything. Just thinking about it made his mind sore. He turned up his nose and instead turned his eyes to the window, trying to drive out his thoughts about the aqua-haired woman – but to no avail.

Luckily for them both, Bunny returned to the kitchen, the wide smile on her face never faltering. She did not seem to notice the silence nor the tension between her daughter and Vegeta, nor had she heard their previous heated interaction. She dropped a large bag of rice onto the counter before turning to Vegeta. "I'll have something ready for you soon, I promise." she told him, moving closer to the Saiyan and pinching his cheek. Bulma gasped at the look that crossed Vegeta's face, and instantly feared for her mother's life. But as Bunny returned to the kitchen, Vegeta's face became blank once more as he turned his head and continued to stare out the window. The blonde female had promised to cook for him. Therefore he still needed for her to live. For now.

Bulma finished up her now-cold meal and quickly washed her plate in the sink, no longer wanting to be in the same room as the arrogant prince. She gave Bunny the best smile she could muster and blatantly ignored Vegeta as she left the room, thinking about what to do with the rest of her day. Helping her father in the laboratory was always an option, there were many new projects and gadgets to tweak, but today she wanted to do something different. She found her way outside, pleased with the warmth the sun was giving off. Her eyes were drawn to the large gravity chamber that sat on the lawn.

She remembered helping Dr. Briefs build the first gravity chamber for Goku a few years previous, although it had also been a space-ship. Even though Bulma had left for Namek before the ship had been fully completed, she had gone over her father's blue-prints thoroughly. It had been a success, built for one hundred times gravity. But that had not been enough for Vegeta. This was already the third one he had used, crashing the first and then promptly blowing up the second and almost killing himself in the process. She had stayed by his side while he had recovered, but he never seemed to be aware of the care she had given him. He had been close to doing it again, more time than she wished to recollect.

Bulma walked up the ramp and into the chamber, pinching her nose in disgust as she did so. How it stunk! She had never smelt anything so bad and so very strong, it was overpowering her nostrils. She moved over to the controls and began to fiddle with the computer, trying to find the self cleaning program she had installed into it when the chamber had first been built, with Vegeta in mind. She knew that he didn't seem to care much for cleanliness and hygiene.

Suddenly, the chamber began to glow red and the door promptly closed itself up. Bulma began to panic as she ran towards the door, banging on it with her fists.

She was trapped.

She ran back to the computer, but did not make it. The room began to heat up and she felt her body grow heavy. It became harder to breathe, and her knees gave out and forced her onto the floor. Bulma realised with horror that she had not managed to run the chamber cleaning program, but instead the gravity intensity. She tried to take in deep breaths, but her chest felt as if it was going to cave in.

Bulma had never felt anything like this. She felt helpless, unable to even try and lift herself from the floor. Any movement she tried was hopeless. She tried to yell out for help, but no sound would come out of her mouth. Her body was now her enemy, keeping her pinned down. The only thing she could think off to help was to take off the clothing that was weighing her down even more. She struggled to remove the orange vest before slowly managing to rip off her red dress, leaving her in nothing but a black bra and matching panties. She closed her eyes. At least she was thankful that she had not been wearing shoes.

The door exploded open, but Bulma's eyes remained shut, unable to open. She felt strong hands move under her body, almost hesitantly, and lift her up off the floor. Moments later the air was no longer thick, but had returned to normal, and her breathing began to regulate. She managed to finally open her eyes, land looked up to find out the identity of her saviour, her gaze meeting the face of someone she would never have suspected.

Vegeta looked down at her, his brows furrowed together in fury, a red tinge on his bronzed cheeks. But as Bulma continued to watch him, she saw a slight hint of worry in his dark eyes. He laid her down on the grass, and quickly moved his hands back to his sides as he stood up. Before she could express her gratitude, he walked away, leaving her to recover alone with her thoughts.

Bulma stayed on the ground for a few minutes, trying to regain the strength in her body. When she felt able, she sat up slowly, her eyes closed. Everything hurt. It felt as if she had just run ten marathons in a row. She then attempted to stand up, but her legs were too wobbly, and she fell back onto the grass again.

She heard footsteps approaching her, and turned to see Vegeta once more. "You stupid, idiotic woman." he exclaimed in an acid tone, looking down at her. Bulma cringed. She really didn't want to hear this right now, but Vegeta continued. "Only you could do something so foolish and moronic."

Determined with anger, Bulma made her way onto her feet, struggling to stay upright. Her piercing blue eyes met his in an icy glare. "What did you intend to prove by entering the gravity chamber?" Vegeta asked her, crossing his arms. "Did you wish to die?" "Of course not!" Bulma exclaimed, losing her balance momentarily. She threw out her arms to steady herself before continuing. "I don't know if you've noticed, but it reeks in there. I was only trying to clean the place up."

Vegeta lowered his arms, his steely gaze still fixed on her face. "Someone will need to fix the door. And I suggest to put some garments on." he told her, before turning to the main house. Bulma clasped her arms over her almost naked body, her cheeks flushing pink as she remembered that her clothes were back in the gravity chamber. She watched Vegeta as he walked away, feeling a mix of emotions as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Vegeta had just saved her life.