Human Hospitality

by scoutergreen

Chapter 36

A Gift, A Looming Problem

Author's Note: There is some sexual content in this chapter, I tried to keep it reasonable and not too raunchy, but proceed with caution...

Browsing the elegant displays in the gentleman's department at Harold & Smithson's, an upscale department store located in a wealthy suburb just outside West City, Bulma searched for something that would appeal to Vegeta.

Something suitable for royalty, he says, but what exactly would he want? He's not going to want a cashmere scarf or Italian leather shoes... he'll probably snap out something about an item needing to be practical or utilitarian or whatever his weird criteria is!

She finally approached a display for a luxury manicure kit, each piece made of surgical steel and set in a leather case, and knew she had found something the Saiyan would actually use. Of all the habits and sometimes contradictory behaviours Vegeta had revealed to Bulma and the other humans thus far, she could absolutely confirm that the Saiyan was quite devoted to his hygiene and took remarkably good care of his skin and nails whenever possible.

"I can't wait to see his reaction to this..."

Late that evening, after spending several hours bolting down furniture and appliances inside the new gravity simulator, Bulma took a quick shower, pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and a sweatshirt, and went across the hallway to knock on Vegeta's door.

Vegeta's gruff voice called out before she could rap her knuckles against the door: "you can enter."

"Hey," Bulma's voice was soft as she opened the door, "I got something for ya!"

The Saiyan sat upright on his bed and swung his legs over the side. The right corner of his mouth turned up when he looked Bulma up and down, enjoying the sight of her shapely bare legs. "Do you now? Show me. Is it a functioning simulator?"

Bulma laughed off his brusque line of questioning, reached into the front pocket of her sweatshirt and retrieved the manicure kit, which she had requested be wrapped in dark blue, textured paper at the department store. "Here you go! I hope you like it!"

The Saiyan ran his fingertips over the gift wrap and looked at Bulma, one brow raised. "I don't get it."

"You're supposed to open it! It's a, well, a little gift," Bulma struggled not to laugh and sat down beside Vegeta, her smile wide and face bright, "just because."

She almost expected Vegeta to react with deep suspicion. "Why? First of all... a gift? And "just because" is the oddest reasoning I've ever encountered in my entire life, which is really saying something. This is some kind of weapon designed to detonate if I tear this covering, isn't it?"

"Ugh, Vegeta! You are so paranoid! Just calm dow- okay, okay, look at it this way: Earthlings sometimes give gifts to those they appreciate or wish to recognize in some way. It's a good thing, I promise. And the paper is just to, um, make it a bit more special."

After a few moments of consideration, Vegeta decided to accept the reasoning the woman provided and tore open the paper, revealing a soft black leather case. When he pulled away the last of the paper, opened the case, and realized the woman had just given him several high-end tools to take care of his nails, a small, genuine smile appeared and his entire face softened, hinting at some type of long-suppressed sweetness for a few seconds.

"Thank you... this was very unexpected," Vegeta pulled out a fine nail file and gently ran it over his thumbnail, "so what is the occasion?"

"You're the one who said to get something "fit for royalty", and this is the only thing I could find that would appeal to a Saiyan prince."

"Heh," he set the nail file back in the case and snapped it back shut, "then you have reasonably good taste. I do like it."

"I'm glad. And, if I'm going to be totally honest with you, Vegeta, your arrival and extended stays on Earth had given me a lot of interesting ideas and new items to work with. Your willingness to provide me with samples of the drugs you retrieved has allowed Capsule Corp to begin new research and development into medications that have the potential to be completely revolutionary. The armour, the simulator, the scouter... you've given me some incredible resources to wo-"

"Hang on," Vegeta suddenly rose from the bed and went to his set of drawers and searched for the delicate gold necklace, finally coming across the fine gold chain and arrow he'd taken from Bulma so many months prior. He returned to the bed, hands clasped together to hide the jewelry, and finally revealed the necklace. "I couldn't bring myself to parting with this. It's not a gift, but I have wanted to return it."

The engineer's eyes overflowed with tears and she brought the Saiyan into a tight embrace, kissing his cheeks and burying her face into the crook of his neck, her hot tears soaking his t-shirt. Vegeta didn't return her embrace, but he didn't push her away either. "Thank you," she managed to croak and sniffed, pulling away to finally wipe her eyes, "oh, Vegeta, thank you for returning this..."

"Stop crying..." he watched her put on the necklace, confused by her reaction.

"I'm not sad, Vegeta! You just did something so... so... kind," she leaned in again and kissed his forehead, "and that is a true gift."

The Saiyan dared to run his hands down Bulma's torso, feeling her figure through the thick material of her sweatshirt, and when he reached the bottom he brought his hands under the shirt, over her soft stomach, up to her breasts, and gently squeezed her nipples. When she gasped and responded by pulling the bunched up fabric up and over her head, Vegeta grinned at the sight of her naked torso and continued to touch her, completely mesmerized by her soft, pale skin and curvaceous figure. He brought Bulma into his lap and kissed her chest, drawn to her warmth and the feeling of her pounding heart.

Vegeta finally forced himself to stop long enough to ask: "what about the human you're having the issues with?"

"Don't worry about him," Bulma started to pull of Vegeta's t-shirt, "he's gonna be out for at least another few hours..."

"Mmm," Vegeta attempted to shimmy out of his running shorts with Bulma still on his lap, "very good. And if you just menstruated..."

Bulma stopped, Vegeta's t-shirt still around his neck, and looked at the Saiyan with her mouth curling into a horrified snarl, "and if I just what?! What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't want to get you pregnant..." Vegeta watched Bulma's facial expression change from one of of anger to one of bewilderment in an instant, "I know that humans and Saiyans... it's possible..."

Finally, Bulma realized that the Saiyan had only a very faint idea of how the human female reproductive cycle worked, no idea of the kinds of birth control humans had at their disposal, and she started to laugh when it dawned on her that his questioning was completely well-intentioned.

"And you won't, Vegeta, because I take a pill that prevents such a thing from happening," she finally pulled the t-shirt off the Saiyan's neck and kissed collarbones, "I'm waaaaay ahead of you..."

"Good," the Saiyan managed to stop running his hands across the woman's body long enough to pull his shorts down and abandoned them on the bedroom floor, "there's two issues covered. Anything else, woman?"

The engineer noticed Vegeta's growing erection, and nodded. "One more thing... I'm going to get a condom. Have a package in my room, be right back," Bulma pulled Vegeta's t-shirt over her head and walked towards the door.

"A what?"

Bulma left without providing an explanation, and returned less than a minute later with a grey box. "It's a very thin latex barrier that's put on an erect penis just before sex. Basically, it's a very effective form of birth control and prevents transmission of diseases," she pulled what looked like a square wrapped in silver foil, "care for a demonstration on how to use them?"

Vegeta couldn't hide his crooked grin and lay back on his bed, watching the woman come even closer, until they were so close that he could feel her body heat radiating, "if you're willing to show me..."

Back in her own bedroom, hair damp from another shower, Bulma replayed her experience with Vegeta over and over again in her head, unsure of how to feel about it. He hadn't been lying about what he liked to do, but she hadn't expected him to use as much strength as he did. His compact, powerful body had been almost too-heavy on top of hers at times, he disliked speaking or even making much noise during sex, and Bulma was left with the overall sense that Vegeta was used to prioritizing his own pleasure and being on his own after sex.

She wondered aloud if she should give him another chance. Open communication was paramount to good sex, after all, and he did seem to have at least some potential.

A soft knock at the door. Couldn't be Vegeta, she thought, he never knocks like that.

"Come in!" Bulma pulled the covers over her legs.

Yamcha entered, looking a little worse for wear after a night out. "Hey, Bulma. How's your night been?"

"Oh, pretty uneventful. Work, work, and more work. I'm gonna go to sleep soon. How was your night? Looks like you had fun!" The engineer squeezed her legs together underneath the blankets.

"It was good! Well, um, I was just wondering, well... if you were gonna show up to the game next week? It's on Thursday."

Bulma smiled and tried to suppress the worry that Vegeta was still awake and possibly listening to their conversation. "I'll try to clear my schedule."

"Great. I'd really love for you to come to a game! Sleep well, Bulma," Yamcha turned to leave the room and looked back, "I love you."

Bulma did not sleep well that night.

To Be Continued