Human Hospitality
by scoutergreen
Chapter 68
Out Of Time
When Vegeta found Bulma in the kitchen shaking a small bottle of what looked like milk, he watched her for a few moments before finally deciding to move past her in order to find something to eat.
"Don't be surprised if Trunks starts crying around nine thirty. Lately he's been wanting to eat around that time, so I'm trying to be prepared..."
"Alright," Vegeta wasn't really sure how to respond to that bit of information, "that's his food, I take it? That milk?"
"Infant formula. He eats and eats and eats, Vegeta. Just like you. It's a bit ridiculous, really- if I take him out he wants to eat every forty minutes. He's pretty adventurous with more grown-up food, too! Little guy loves mashed sweet potatoes! The minute he could hold his head up on his own, Trunks has shown interest in everything we're eating!"
"Uh-huh..." the Saiyan found a tin of tuna fish and decided that would be just fine, "how old is i- he?"
"Almost nine months now."
"How long will he be helpless?"
Bulma stopped shaking the plastic bottle and set it down on the counter with just enough force to make a noise. "Vegeta! Trunks is just an infant. I don't know how quickly Saiyan babies develop, but human children need a lot of care and nurturing and guidance, and that's well beyond the first year of life! Ugh, you're so inconsiderate!"
The Saiyan seethed and opted to pull the lid off his snack before responding. He'd come across the good type of tuna fish, packed in olive oil and wonderfully salty, and smiled a bit. "I ask because I need to know about the progress on that gravity room. The simulator on my ship works, but I haven't pushed it to its highest limits since I got it repaired."
The engineer had been looking through the refrigerator, searching for something to snack on, when Vegeta's comment made her stop and look at him with her eyes wide. "Repaired?! What the hell happened?"
As Vegeta recounted the story of waking up on a strange planet, his ship's electrical systems disabled and shutting down for his own safety, Bulma made two cups of tea and listened to him, wide eyed and anxious about where his story might be going.
"...I managed to get off the ground again, and eventually found a station where, believe it or not, I ran into a mechanic I knew as a teenager. She's good at her job, so naturally I trusted her to fix the issues, but I was unwilling to push my luck during my return."
"Oh my god, an alien worked on my ship? Wow!" Bulma's expression grew very bright and she stood up from her chair, "this is amazing! Wait here, I'm gonna get dressed and get my tools, be ready to show me what she worked on! Oooh, I hope she put in a few new parts for me to check out!"
Bulma bounded up the stairs two at a time and nearly slid across the hardwood floor as she ran down the hallway in her stocking feet. Two minutes later, she came running down the stairs, dressed in a tank top and coveralls, wearing her work boots and her hair held back underneath a bandanna. "C'mon," she slid the patio door open and bounded towards the ship, still sitting in the backyard, "what are you waiting for?!"
Vegeta decided to get another tin of tuna before he headed outside, stopping for a few seconds to feel the lush green grass underneath his bare feet. In a few weeks it will be time to do battle with those androids, he thought, and should I die, it is certain that I will return to the cold and darkness...
He shivered as he ascended the staircase, and stopped in the doorway when he discovered Bulma had pulled the panels off most of the electrical systems and going from place to place, trying to take in everything at once. Vegeta had never seen the woman appear so happy and excited, and although he couldn't explain why, her reaction pleased him.
"Wow! Oh, wow, Vegeta! She re-wired things... look at this wiring! What sort of material is this?! It looks like she fixed the wall... she replaced the siding! Oh my God..." she booted up the computer and marvelled at how quickly it worked, "this is incredible!"
"Malar is a very talented mechanic. She even serviced Frieza's ships, back in the day," Vegeta ate a forkful of tuna and watched as Bulma continued examining all the work Malar had done.
"Damn... this craftsmanship looks like it is beyond compare. Is, so, uh... is she, you know... evil?" Bulma laughed nervously but was reluctant to make extended eye contact with the Saiyan.
Vegeta scoffed at the woman's question and ate a bit more. "More like the most well-intentioned soul I've ever crossed. I have no fucking idea how she's survived and made a profit in the Planet Trade Organization without hurting or killing anybody... as far as I know, anyway."
Bulma laughed nervously and navigated the computer's programs. All systems appeared normal in the diagnostics panel, and all the lighting and communications systems responded in record time when the engineer accessed them.
"Vegeta, I want you to train in here to your heart's content. Just, ah, don't blow it up, okay? You have my full permission to put the gravity simulator as high as you can take it. The gravity room is built, but I'm still having issues with running the simulator designed for the room. You see, in theory it works, but there's something about its construction I haven't quite figured out yet... but I've got a hunch about those components your friend added. All I ask is that you let me have, oh, an hour each day to check out the wear and tear on the simulator and ship's hull? Preferably during the late afternoon or early evening..."
"Fin- very well. And for the record, I don't intend on getting caught in another explosion."
Bulma cracked up laughing, but seconds later her expression turned very sad. "We've only got a few weeks left..."
"I know. My training out in deep space was beneficial, and I intend to turn those androids into scrap metal."
"But that strange young man, Vegeta... he said you will..." Bulma stared into the Saiyan's dark eyes, "he said that so many will..." tears welled up in her bright blue eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
The Saiyan brushed off Bulma's comment and tears with a bark of a laugh, and tilted his chin up. "That purple-haired brat from the so-called future? Please. He knows nothing of my true power. Before Kakarot and the others can even reach ground zero, I will have taken on and defeated the androids. I guarantee it, Bulma. Nothing will stand in my way now! Now quit your crying!"
The engineer stared at Vegeta in disbelief for several seconds before her eyes began to dart back and forth, suddenly recalling something. "Purple hair... purple hair... aaah! Trunks! Ohmygod, I better go and check on him! He's probably waking up right now!"
Bulma left Vegeta alone in the ship, running down the stairs and into the house. Taken off-guard by the woman's sudden shift in mindset, Vegeta paced around the ship, finishing his second tin of tuna fish and looking over Malar's work one more time. He suddenly thought about the boy from the future and his purple hair.
"Purple hair... purple hair... ugh! What a wretched hair colour, purple! And that stupid outfit! Fuck, that kid was what, sixteen years old? That future boy is probably just some bored intern at Bulma's family's company, playing a ludicrous prank. What a joke!"
Although she felt much better, Malar still hadn't recovered fully and had to remind herself that she had the right to sleep more than usual and to move at a slower pace. Her body continued to heal and a constant full-body pain kept her from doing much of anything. After being released from the clinic where she had the surgery on her heart, the first thing the mechanic did was treat herself to a cup of tea at a tiny tea room.
"I'm not sure how much money I've got on this," the mechanic was quick to tell the young server before saying yes to any sweets or fruit, "do you have any way of checking the balance?"
"No problem," the server, a very young woman with bright pink hair and shimmering green skin passed over the small card reader used to process payments, "just press the orange button."
"Thanks..." Malar inserted the ghost card, pushed the button, and feared her recovering heart would stop when the screen displayed the balance available; Vegeta had told her there had been a couple hundred thousand credits available, but the card reader said there was close to two million credits available. Her financial safety net now wide and strong, Malar had the opportunity to recover at her own pace and take her time finding new work.
Convinced her body had gone numb, Malar slowly removed the card with a trembling hand and passed the reader back over the counter. "Um... yeah... those sweets... yeah, please... that would be... great..."
"Are you alright, miss?" The server watched the tall, stunned woman with worry.
Lips turning up into the brightest and most genuine smile she had given in years, Malar nodded. "Never been better."
For the entire month of April, Vegeta trained every day, ate as much as he wanted, took naps after lunch, swam laps every morning, occasionally watched a bit of television, and observed his infant son from a distance. He was unwilling to hold the baby, twice snapping that Saiyan men did not raise children, when in reality he wasn't entirely sure he could suppress the barely-conscious desire to wrap his hands around its fat little neck.
He asked Bulma on three occasions if she wanted to have sex, but the answer was always no. On April the eighteenth, Mrs. Briefs had taken Trunks to an appointment that turned out to be a consultation prior to tail removal surgery. Vegeta screamed that removing the boy's tail was to deny his heritage and paternity, and before the stunned older woman could even open her mouth to retort, the Saiyan's voice dropped into its lowest register, and through grit teeth he snarled: "you might deny what that boy is, but one day you'll see- you'll all see what he really is!"
As the infant screamed in distress, shaken out of his sleep by the terrifying roar that came out of the man whose energy was always either neutral or terrifying, Vegeta stormed out of the house and spent the rest of the day up on the rooftop, brooding and wallowing in his anger.
On April thirtieth, at eleven in the evening, Bulma knocked on Vegeta's bedroom door and let herself in when he asked who it was. Although he wanted to yell at her for barging into his room, the Saiyan was pleasantly taken aback by the sight of the woman dressed in a very short nightgown.
"This is unexpected," his lopsided smirk appeared and he took in the sight of the woman's figure, "but not unwanted..."
The engineer sat beside him on the bed and reached out to rub his shoulders. "I want you."
"Mmm," Vegeta was quick to pull off his t-shirt and let her touch his skin, "it's a matter of days now, isn't it?"
"Yes..." Bulma kissed the back of Vegeta's neck and drew herself in closer, "I just need some company now..."
On the first of May, Vegeta entered a period of extended physical recovery and rest. He ate more than ever, gaining another four pounds in the space of one week, slept at least ten hours each night, and did little more than swim laps in the late afternoon. He was very quiet, suddenly more introspective than ever and slow to respond when others tried to engage him in conversation. Although he continued to observe baby Trunks from a distance, the aggressive vibration he emitted into the environment gave way to one that was enquiring and borderline passive.
On the ninth of May, the Saiyan was pleasantly surprised when Mrs. Briefs presented him with a new suit of lightweight armour, gloves, boots, and a few different options for clothing. He opted to go for full coverage and was impressed by how well-designed the clothing was. It fit him perfectly, far better than anything the PTO have ever offered him, and gave his body a remarkably sleek appearance. Voice subdued, Vegeta thanked the woman, and continued languidly inspecting his appearance in a full-length mirror.
"You're certainly welcome, Vegeta. Sweetheart... could I give you a hug?"
"No," Vegeta's voice was stronger, sharper, and his gaze became more focused on the mirror.
"Okay," Mrs. Briefs' voice remained soft and comforting, "we love you. Goodnight," she immediately left, knowing she'd hit him with her words when he froze for a split second.
"Who the fuck is "we"," he asked to an empty room.
The night of May eleventh, just ten minutes after the Saiyan had turned in for the night, Bulma came to his dark room and immediately crawled into his bed, making her way underneath him with remarkable speed and grace.
"Please," she kissed his cheek and ran a hand through his hair he fully realized what she was doing, "please make love to me, Vegeta. One more time..."
He returned her kiss and started to push the blankets back.
The morning of May twelfth did not go as Vegeta had predicted. After spending two hours together, much of it in near-silence save for a few whispered words and quiet moans, Bulma left Vegeta's bedroom. Unable to fall asleep, Vegeta took a warm shower and watched television, the volume barely above mute, flipping between a 24 hour news channel, an infomercial, an science-fiction film, and the weather channel for close to three hours. Then, desperate to fall asleep and convinced he could feel his limbs growing heavy, Vegeta lay in bed with his eyes shut and focused on his breathing.
This is it this is it this is it this is it this is it this is it...
Finally, unsure of what time it was, Vegeta fell asleep. Just before he drifted off, Vegeta told himself that he would get up by seven thirty.
When the hum of the little vacuum that patrolled the upstairs hallway roused Vegeta from his heavy slumber, the Saiyan immediately knew it was well past seven thirty. He threw the blankets back and practically hurled himself out of bed, scrambling to get into his battle armour and pull himself together at once. He stomped into his bathroom and took enough time to rinse his face and brush his teeth, nearly choking on a mouthful of frothy toothpaste when he heard a knock at his door.
"Honey, are you awake yet? It's almost eleven thirty and I'm about to make lunch!" The elder Briefs woman was at his door, her voice bright and cheerful as always. Vegeta felt his stomach drop somewhere around his knees. Lunch?! How could she be so calm on a day like today, he thought, rinsing his mouth and slamming the cold water tap shut before he ran out to his balcony.
In the middle of his running start into flight, Vegeta stopped in his tracks and the first part of the woman's sentence suddenly hit him: it was eleven thirty in the morning, which meant Kakarot and the other had the greatest head-start of their lifetimes.
Then he realized it was eleven thirty in the morning, which meant the battle would already be underway. He had to get to those androids and destroy them before Kakarot could! He could not let another victory slip from between his fingers! Cursing in his native tongue, Vegeta jumped into the air and headed towards the collection of familiar energies somewhere in the distance.