Bulma was back at her porridge, yet again, when Gohan burst into the house with tears streaming down his face. She'd hardly had time to even step back from the counter when he was in the kitchen and diving for her, burying his face in her stomach. He let out a loud sob, sniffling into the fabric of her gown. "What the-?" She began, but before she had a chance to finish her thought the front door flew open again.

"GOHAN, GET BACK HERE!"

When he heard the sound of his mentor's voice, the boy swung around to Bulma's rear, trying to hide himself from Piccolo's view as he buried his face into her lower back. Obviously something horrible had just happened, and the Bluehead's heart seemed to freeze in place when, a moment later, Piccolo was standing right in front of her. He was towering over her, looking over her shoulder. His breaths rasping out of his nostrils, and there was a demented look of fury in his cold eyes.

"Enough of this!" He yelled, and Bulma flinched at the fire in his voice. Her mouth had dropped open, watching Piccolo like a deer caught in front of headlights. What was all this? She'd just been trying to finally eat, and now all of the sudden she was involuntarily standing in the middle of some kind of ultrahuman dispute!

"Gohan…" Piccolo warned. "We need to settle this. Get back in the gravity room. Right now."

"No! Go away!" Gohan yelled back, his voice muffled from Bulma's clothy rear. "Just leave me alone! I'm tired of this! I'm tired of you! I thought you understood me, but you don't! Nobody understands me!"

"GOHAN, DAMNIT! STOP THROWING A FIT!"

Kami – that yell! Bulma was suddenly feeling afraid - very afraid, and her arm went out to add more shield for the boy as Piccolo seethed. She took a step back, nearly stumbling over the child as he continued to sob into her. The Bluehead's eyes had gone wide as Piccolo seemed stood over her, and he was staring at her with such disdain that it took all she could to keep from preemptively flinching.

It was clear that what Gohan said was really having an effect on Piccolo – he'd completely snapped. Balling his hands into fists, he took a deep breath, and then he shook his head. "Stop trying to protect the kid." He finally growled, and it seemed that he was mustering all the patience he could. "He has work to do. This has nothing to do with you, so step aside and let me handle it."

"N-No!" Bulma shot back, though her voice was shaking more than she would have liked it to. She had grown used to Piccolo being so nearby all the time, and she had even almost become completely comfortable with him – from a distance. But seeing the rage on his scaly face now only reminded her of all of the reasons she'd been so fearful of him in the first place, and she couldn't just hand the boy over to him. Perhaps they were just going to hash this out, but perhaps not. She didn't know what had happened to cause any of this, but she wasn't going to take any risks that Gohan might get hurt. "I... I don't know what's going on, but Gohan stays with me until I can find out. Just leave for now."

"You have no business getting involved." His face only grew even colder. "You've provided us with that gravity room, so I'm being civil right now. But you'd better stop protecting the kid when he's in trouble, or I will be forced to make you stop. Now, move!"

"You said it, not me! He's just a kid!" She tried. She was still struggling to back away, her legs hitting Gohan with each step. "He's obviously scared!"

"I don't have time for this stupid game!" Piccolo barked, and then his green hand was on her shoulder.

His intention in that moment wasn't to actually hurt her. Piccolo had been planning on just fishing her out of the way so he could get face level with the boy and demand a more thorough conversation. And he was about to do that, his wrist starting to flick as he began to pull her back. But he had hardly even moved her by a centimeter before something heavy collided with his rib, and everything around him started to spin.

Bulma put a hand over her mouth, and she really did fall when Vegeta yanked Piccolo away. It happened so fast, and all she'd felt was the sudden relief of pressure when his green claws were ripped from her shirt. The next thing she knew she was laying on Gohan, who actually didn't seem to mind, and she was staring straight ahead as she watched Vegeta slamming Piccolo into the kitchen wall.

A shattering sound was heard, a dent forming around Piccolo's frame. And then the two men were huffing in the recoil.

At first Piccolo seemed surprised, but then his face quickly twisted into a snarl. He didn't have the chance to shout something, though. A loud slapping sound erupted when Vegeta's palm came into full contact with his cheek, echoing across the room and making the Bluehead cringe.

The saiyan prince had just slapped the absolute shit out of Piccolo, and apparently it had been successful in rendering the green man completely stunned. The green man's face dropped, and he closed his mouth.

"Don't manhandle my Woman." Vegeta was saying, his voice slowly oozing out from behind his gritted teeth. "She is a HUMAN, you IDIOT... She cannot handle the FORCE."

The saiyan was holding Piccolo by the neck with one hand, his fingers tightly gripping the towel he had around his waist with the other. His black hair was still dripping suds down his back as he stood his ground, and it was obvious that this entire scene had forced him to cut his shower short.

Actually, Bulma could still hear the water running through the pipes from the other room… It seemed that Vegeta had quite literally jumped out just to stop this situation before it was able to escalate any further... He hadn't even taken the time to turn off the tap...

Piccolo was panting, but after a few minutes of staring at Vegeta he blinked. And then realization dawned on his face. "... Thanks." He muttered, gulping down some of the foam that had been forming in his lips. "I... I needed that."

Staring into his dark eyes for another few seconds, the saiyan prince seemed to be considering whether the green man really was calming down. And then, with a grunt, Vegeta let go and stepped back.

Still wide eyed and shaking with the suddenness of everything, Bulma was catching her breath in sharp gasps as she stared at Piccolo from over Vegeta's shoulder. Piccolo was still watching Vegeta, but when he felt her eyes he looked over to return her gaze. With a grunt he nodded at her, furrowing his brows. "Hey... I'm sorry. I don't pride myself in losing my calm like that. I got carried away."

She wasn't feeling enthusiastic to lock eyes with him, so Bulma quickly averted her pupils to the back of Vegeta's head. And then, when she saw his shoulders twitching as he started to turn around, she looked away from him as well. She shifted her weight to move off of Gohan, pushing some hairs out of her face as she did so.

No longer sobbing, Gohan had his lips pursed in embarassment. The Bluehead pulled herself up to her feet, took him by the hand, and gestured for the boy to stand with her.

And then, without looking back at Vegeta or Piccolo, and without speaking a word to either of them, she ushered Gohan away from the kitchen.

The two remained silent until they had both disappeared inside the bedroom and the door was carefully shut behind them. And then she walked to her bed, dropped herself into a sitting position as if she was exhausted, and looked up at the kid. "Well..." She breathed, shaking her head. "That. Was. Crazy."

Still looking embarrassed, Gohan had kept his distance as he hovered by the door, his hands balled into fists. His cheeks were stained red in place of where his tears had just been, his expression twisted as he looked down to avoid her gaze. Evidently, having someone fall on him had done the trick in calming whatever had been boiling over inside, and he now seemed to be completely ashamed for his earlier blowup.

His hair was covering his eyes as he stared down at the floor, and this was the first time that the Bluehead realized just how overgrown it really was.

Why, it was nearly as long as her own!

Bulma sighed, pushing herself up from the bed so she could walk towards her dressing table. "How do you even manage to train with your hair like that?" She asked, though it came out more as a comment than an interrogation. After a few minutes of fishing through one of the drawers, she found what it was she was looking for.

It was then that she turned to him, and he was finally looking at her with a quizzical expression.

"Alright." She said. "Vegeta's still going to be using the bathroom, so we'll have to make due in here. Come on..."

... A few minutes later saw Gohan sitting on the floor and hugging his knees, with Bulma right behind him. She was kneeling over the boy, a pair of scissors in her hand as she snipped away at his locks. "We'll get this nice and short so you'll have a while before it grows back out." She explained softly, a large chunk of black hair falling to the floor beside them.

This entire time Gohan still hadn't said a word.

He just couldn't.

He had humiliated himself, and he'd known better to act the way he had. The boy was ashamed of what he'd done, and he didn't know how to handle that. There was an overwhelming sense of sadness, the scenes replaying in his head as Bulma snipped away behind him. He knew he shouldn't have run away like he had. He shouldn't have chosen to hide behind Bulma, to let her get involved.

All he'd wanted at the time was someone who might show more tenderness to him. He wanted someone to understand. He needed more affection than he ever received from Vegeta or Mr. Piccolo, he just did. At the time, his instinct had been to go to Miss Bulma, but it hadn't been right. She could never give him what he needed. Because, deep down, what he'd really wanted was his own mom…

"I know those two can be hard on you..." Bulma was whispering now as she ran a brush through his now considerably shorter mane. "Whatever happened between you and Piccolo, I don't really blame you for getting upset. The guy can be scary. But I can tell he cares about you, though. Really, I mean, I honestly didn't even know he was capable of liking anyone at all until I saw how he interacts with you..."

"Yeah..." Gohan replied quietly, trying not to get upset again. "Maybe that's why it hurts... When we first started training, I thought it was because he wanted to fight with me... I thought he actually liked me, too… But he doesn't care enough to fight with me... He's not even going to help… It's like he's just been using me for some reason... Sometimes I just feel like I'm just a big puppet..."

"You aren't." She gave part of his head another snip to try and even out his hair on both sides.

"Mr. Piccolo isn't even planning to fight with us, though. He just wants to yell at me, and tell me everything I do wrong, and then he's going to sit back and not even try to help when me and Mr. Vegeta-"

"Yeah, that would piss me off too." She patted some loose strands off from his shoulders. "But Piccolo has his reasons, I'll give him that. I think he knows enough about those androids to not want to risk it. If anything happened to him, it'd be very bad."

"It would?"

"Yeah. You know those dragon balls I've been collecting? Well, if anything happened to Piccolo, they would become useless. We'd never be able to make a wish again. And he knows that. I think that's why he pushes you so hard. He must see what your capable of, and honestly, I think he needs you..."

Gohan didn't respond to this.

He closed his eyes as Bulma ran a brush through his hair one last time, letting out a low breath of air as she did. When she was done she put her tools down beside her, and she clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Look." She whispered. "I don't know what Vegeta's been planning, but I don't like the sound of it either. I'm going to talk to him and make sure you aren't going to fight. If he wants to do anything crazy, he'll be doing it on his own. I won't let him force you into this. So don't worry. You're not going to have to do anything..."

And then she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze from behind. "Things might be complicated right now, but you know I'm here for you." She said softly. "I'll always be here for you. Together we make a family… Don't you forget that…"

Several minutes passed, and she stayed still as she hugged him. And then, deciding to change the mood, she finally stood. And then the Bluehead offered a hand to help him up. He looked at her, shook his head, and stood on his own. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier, Miss Bulma… I really am."

"It's okay." She smiled. "That's what I'm here for…"

… The house was empty when they walked back out into the main rooms, with only a Piccolo shaped dent in the kitchen wall to indicate that he'd ever even been there.

"Great..." The Bluehead sighed when she looked across the tiled floor. Her beloved bowl of porridge had gotten thrown at some point during the altercation, and now lay in a splattered mess beside one of the cabinets. "Alright, I guess that settles it. I'll have to make something else."

She stepped past the spill, reaching the refrigerator and pulling its door open. "Gohan, have a seat. I'll make us something to eat."

And he did, nodding quietly as he crossed to the kitchen table and planted himself down in one of the seats. He watched Bulma as she started to crack eggs into a frying pan. And he watched as she dug through a drawer to fetch a spatula…

… It just didn't feel right to simply sit here and eat a giant meal, not at a time like this. Not when there was still so much unsettled conflict. There was a residual cloud of guilt that was still plaguing the pit of his stomach, his eyes still stinging from the tears he'd shed earlier... It just wasn't right…

... Bulma flipped the eggs over, watching as they sizzled against the pan. "I'll get this ready, and I can clean up everything once we eat." She said, her back turned to the child as she worked. "I think we both need a good meal right now. It'll make us both feel a world's better. Kami, I hope this doesn't get ruined too. I've been starving since I woke up."

He didn't respond, but that didn't surprise her. It was clear he was still feeling emotional. She walked to a cabinet to fetch a plate, went back to the pan, and scooped the eggs onto the dish. And then she turned, ready to ask Gohan if he wanted something to drink with his food.

But when she got a good look at the table, she froze. Standing still with the plate in her hand, taking in what she saw, all she could do was sigh.

The chair was now empty, having been pushed back with absolute stealth. Gohan was nowhere to be seen, and Bulma knew exactly where he'd gone. She shut off the stove and shook her head, sighing again. "Well, I guess I'll be eating this meal alone…"

.

...Vegeta was standing in his reserved corner of the gravity room, but he wasn't calm aat all as he practiced raising his ki. The struggle to make the transition had reached a point where he'd end up a frustrated mess each time he made a failed attempt. On most days he'd end up howling and shouting obscenities on his knees, ranting about how infuriating it was to not be able to achieve the legendary transformation. He still couldn't understand - how had the boy, of all people, managed such a thing?! Especially when he'd had no prior experience in fighting when it happened!

How?!

Piccolo was leaning with his back against the wall on the other side of the room. A large hand print was stamped on his right cheek, a token of his earlier run-in with Vegeta. He had managed to calm down a bit, but he was nowhere near happy.

The kid had just randomly exploded about things he'd known of since long ago. It hadn't been news that Piccolo would not assist in the battle with the Androids, and still the boy had used it as an excuse to have a break down. It was bad enough that he'd shouted such things, but he'd also bailed on his training, had hidden behind Vegeta's eye candy, and had even gotten away with it, too. The next time he saw Gohan, Piccolo was going to make sure he knew that his behavior wasn't acceptable. No way in hell was that boy going to learn he could get away with anything by simply hiding behind Bulma!

It didn't help that the large man-baby was throwing a fit on the other end of the room. Piccolo listened as Vegeta let out another explosive rant, the saiyan even slamming his fist into the floor as he cursed. It was irritating, to say the least, but it was always like this. When he was angry about something, Piccolo preferred to keep it to himself. He always tried to dig within himself, to process everything until her found a resolve. The peace that came from that always ended up heightening his tolerance for bullshit. With each failure, Piccolo managed to learn something new about himself, and he prided himself on this.

He prided himself on remaining cool... Yet, when he'd heard the boy speak to him with so much pain, he'd lost it...

Vegeta, on the other hand, seemed the absolute opposite. Any small thing that didn't go his way left the saiyan prince shouting and throwing his fist in the air like an uneducated ape. Vegeta certainly didn't know how to keep his thoughts to himself when someone made him mad, and everything seemed to piss him off! The guy had a fuse shorter than anyone he'd known!

It was getting old.

Perhaps this was where Gohan had gotten it from…

Piccolo thought of muttering something to the saiyan about how he needed to learn how to shut the fuck up, instead of droning on like a pathetic child and throwing a violent temper tantrum all the time. But the door opened then, and he looked up to see a strikingly different Gohan step inside.

The kid was now sporting a sloppy looking crew cut, which had been trimmed in such a way that it managed to make him look even shaggier than he had in the first place. His face was no longer red, his cheeks now flat instead of puffy. Gohan had a glare on his face that settled on Piccolo, and the boy marched up to him in long strides.

"What happened to you?" The green man grunted, not moving from his position against the wall.

"Oh, look who it is now!" Vegeta barked. He had been in the process of pulling his shirt off, and he threw in on the floor before storming over. With the gravity set as high as it was, the shirt made a loud clunking sound as it hit the tile. "That little stunt you pulled interrupted my shower, boy."

"I know." Gohan sighed. "I'm sorry, Mister Vegeta..."

"The only reason you weren't disciplined back there is because you chose to drag Bulma into this, and Piccolo was dumb enough to touch her. The two of you know she is sick, so it was foolish of you both. She doesn't need to stand witness to you being punished, and Piccolo took that discipline already when he made the mistake of wanting to shove her." Vegeta turned then to shoot a glare at Piccolo, and he scowled back.

The green man still hadn't moved from his spot against the wall, and he watched with folded arms as Gohan nodded to Vegeta. "I know, sir. I won't do it again."

"Good!" Vegeta snarled. "Because if you do, it won't matter if Bulma is nearby. I'll wait until you aren't with her, and I'll make sure it resonates with you that hiding behind the woman like a scared dog is not going to be tolerated around here!"

"I know…" Gohan said again. "I really am sorry, Mister Vegeta…"

And then the boy turned to Piccolo, nodding at him. Piccolo did not return the gesture, still scowling at the child with a stone cold expression. Gohan looked taken about by the severity of Piccolo's face. His cheeks reddened, and he gulped a lump down his throat before speaking again. "Miss Bulma said I don't have to do this anymore... She said she won't let you guys make me fight."

"Great. Now she's loading you with propaganda!" The saiyan cursed from behind, "Fine. Waste all of our time, why don't you! Take everything we've done and just throw it away! Burn it to ash!" He was yelling at the top of his lungs now, cursing about how "everyone on this planet is so damned terrified of aggression, it's pathetic!", but Gohan ignored him. He hadn't been talking to him.

Piccolo didn't even blink from all that was going on. It was predictable that Vegeta would use this as an excuse to go on a verbal tirade. He'd already been in the middle of one when Gohan had walked in, hadn't he? His green, hairless eyebrows furrowed even lower at the boy, ignoring the man-child that was growling behind them.

"I... I still want to." Gohan continued, ignoring Vegeta as well. He was starting to look antsy though, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in front of Piccolo's stare. It didn't feel good to be looked at with such disapproval, it never did. But especially not when it was coming from one of the people whom opinion mattered to him most. "I... I'm sorry I yelled at you, Mister Piccolo. Bulma talked to me, and now I understand why you can't fight with me and Mister Vegeta, and I... I still want to do this."

"You do?" Piccolo's eyes widened, and he was finally speaking for the first time.

"Yeah. I... I want to make you proud, sir." Gohan stopped fidgeting when he saw a small grin break out on his mentor's face. And then he couldn't help himself - it was just so relieving to know that Piccolo wasn't mad anymore! He ran to him, throwing his arms around the green man and hugging him for the very first time.

Piccolo's skin turned an even brighter shade of green when the boy did this. He looked up, looked to his side, looked down, and looked over his shoulder. What was he supposed to do?

Where was this coming from?!

As if to save Piccolo from his anxiety, Gohan pulled away, wiping yet another tear from his beaming face. "I want to make you proud!" He said again. "I want you to be glad you trained me!"

And then it happened – and Piccolo was just as surprised by himself as anyone else. The green man leaned forward, wrapped his arms around the child, and lifted him into a giant hug. "Gohan." He said, squeezing the boy so tight that all of the air was pushed from his lungs. "I already am…"

Oh, jeez... Vegeta's lips were tightening as he tried to decide which was snide comment he wanted to make about the sentiment of that scene. His brain began to race, unsure of exactly which direction he wanted to go with his insults…

But at that moment Gohan jumped back from Piccolo, hovering in the air. An explosion burst around him as his hair changed color, now taking on small spikes across his scalp instead of the long golden flame it had previously been.

And then, just as Vegeta was opening his mouth to spit out his sarcasm, Gohan swung around. He flew at the saiyan prince in only a split second's time, landing a kick in Vegeta's solar plexus when he reached him. It was hard enough that Vegeta almost lost his footing - hard enough that a breathless pop of air even escaped his lips.

"Good job!" Piccolo called from the sidelines.

"There you go, boy..." Vegeta smirked, wiping the spit from his chin. Gohan was floating at face level, still beaming like a child in a candy store. He even let out an excited laugh, finding the humor in having taken his teacher by such surprise.

"Not bad..." The saiyan prince fell into a fighting position now, smirking even wider. Finally, after a day of wasted time and too many emotions... Finally, the training was finally going to start!

.

It was about 11pm when Vegeta finally slipped into the bedroom for the night. He'd been expecting Bulma to be asleep at that point, which had become typical for her. Sometimes she would wake up for a few minutes to bitch at him about not wanting him to train, but she was always sleeping in the dark when he entered. Tonight, though, he was pleasantly surprised to see the that light was on, and she was sitting upright in bed.

The Bluehead had been flipping through a fashion magazine, but she tossed it aside when she saw the man she'd been waiting for. "Hey." She said quietly, her shoulders perking as he crossed towards her.

"You're awake." There was a smirk on the saiyan's face. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was glad to see her as he strode across the room. And when he reached the foot of the bed he stopped to pull off his spandex shirt, a relaxed groan leaving his lip when the fabric finally slid off.

"Of course… I was waiting for you..."

"You've been asleep every other night I've come in." Vegeta began to crawl on the bed, finding a spot beside the Bluehead and assuming a comfortable position on his back. He propped his hands behind his head as he lay, looking over at her.

"Thanks for helping earlier." Bulma whispered, not caring to continue with the small talk. "With Piccolo, I mean-"

"Your stubbornness is going to be your end someday, Woman. You should be glad I was there. I don't think he wanted to inflict any actual damage on you, but the man probably underestimates how much you can take."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "The guy was foaming at the mouth, and Gohan was upset! Of course I wasn't going to just hand him off! It would have been like feeding him to the wolves!"

"You very well know that Piccolo would never hurt him. He was just mad because the boy starting yelling at him and ran off, like a child or something."

"He is a child!" She hissed. Vegeta was saying everything so matter of factly - as if what he was stating should have been more than obvious. Bulma had already been offended by his words, but now she was crossing into legitimate anger. "And I didn't know that, for your information. I don't know of anything that goes on in that gravity room." She hissed. "And that green monster is a massive embodiment of evil!"

"So am I!" Vegeta shot back, still speaking as if he were telling her the obvious. "Any reservations you have about Piccolo, you should also direct towards me."

"Hmm..." The Bluehead had been sitting up, but she dropped down to lay beside the saiyan now. Turning on her side to look at him, she propped her head up with one of her hands. "Maybe I should be wary of you. You aren't like him, though. You're not evil."

"Yes I am." He shot back. "It's all I've ever told you about myself!"

"Yeah, but you aren't that way to me!"

"You're an exception. And to Piccolo, Gohan is an exception as well. Next time they have a row, just stay out of it. Even if the kid tries to involve you again, just leave it be."

"Exception?" Bulma echoed, a smile on her face now.

"Of course! Stop playing dumb! You know this!"

"I know you aren't as bad as you want to believe you are," She replied, and her voice was dropping into a lower whisper. "But I didn't know you thought of me as an exception…"

"Right." Vegeta muttered, but he was quickly starting to forget about what they'd just been discussing. While she'd been speaking, Bulma had reached out to put her fingertips on Vegeta's bare chest, and they were now starting to trace across his skin.

"You know..." She said. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier. I've been having some cravings, too..."

"Understandable." The saiyan gulped. She had pushed her entire palm against him now, and was slowly massaging it into his pecs with circular motions.

Alright! This was just what he needed! Feeling eager, Vegeta made to turn onto her, but her hand only pushed firmer into his chest. "No." She said. "Don't."

"But you-"

"I said I've been having cravings... I didn't say I wanted that."

"Woman..." His face was souring. "Don't toy with me, now. What are you-"

But she cut him off with her lips, and it was enough to confirm that she wasn't just testing him. The saiyan immediately put his hand to the back of her head, more than ready to deepen this into something more. A burst was already going on inside, just from the feel of her touch alone. A need for touch, a lust for her warm skin.

He was still turned on from their earlier encounter, and things were continuing where they had left off. And it was perfect - there were no underlying commitments to rip them away like there had been before.

Nobody was waiting for Vegeta.

Nobody knew or cared what they did, or how long they spent, and he intended to take full advantage of that.

She had starting to nibble on his lower lip, and she had to fight back a smile at how he reacted to it. He was on his side and facing her. When her teeth sank into his lip, he coiled against her body and let out a deep groan.

He was thrusting into her hip to show his enthusiasm, and Kami, he felt as if he was already completely ready to go. Bulma used her hand, which was still on his chest, to push herself up onto his body. "No." She instructed again when he made as if to sit up and grab after her. "Lay, Vegeta… Stay."

"Bulma..." He growled, sounding as if he were about to throw a tantrum. Acting as if he had just been denied something he'd been promised decades earlier. This prince really was spoiled, wasn't he? He couldn't even wait two seconds for foreplay!

"Just relax..." She replied, trying not to laugh as she slid down his body. "It's all gonna be okay..."

And then she reached part of his anatomy that she'd been looking for, and she lay against his thighs as she looked up at it. Kami, she didn't think she'd ever gotten as close of a look at it as she was getting now. He'd never really let her – and heavens! It was so glorious! Perfectly shaped and sized, his erection was standing upright in all its glory.

Looking up to see Vegeta's face, Bulma smiled to see that he was staring straight up at the ceiling, almost as if he were actually nervous. He was laying incredibly still, his body stiff as he waited for her to continue with her actions. "Don't look so uptight." She teased, and his chest bobbed with a stifled laugh. "I am not." He growled. "You don't know what is going through my head right now, Woman... It requires all of my will not to act on it…"

"I'm sure I have an idea..." She grinned, making sure her breath was hitting his sensitive skin as she spoke. His posture tightened even more at this, and she watched his adam's apple bob with a distinguishing gulp.

"If you do, then you know it's taking all I have to keep from fucking the shit out of you."

"Language…" Bulma breathed, clicking out a sarcastic "tssk". And then, without warning, she wrapped her fingers around the thick of his shaft, giving an affectionate squeeze.

She didn't know what Vegeta had been expecting, but apparently it hadn't been this. He let out a raw and unfiltered groan, so loud that it made the Bluehead cringe. His hips violently jolted at the feel, shaking Bulma's entire body along with it. Seeming to be absolutely stunned, he looked down at her as if to confirm what had just happened. His eyes had gone wide, his mouth dropped open as he met her gaze.

"Ssh!" Bulma scolded. The sound he'd made was still echoing through the house. She had almost instinctively let go of him to hide under the covers and pretend to be unsuspecting - just in case Gohan walked in to ask if anything was wrong. But, when she listened for any sign of recourse and heard nothing, she let out a sigh. "That was close. Be careful, Vegeta! We have a guest in this house, you know!"

"A little warning might have prevented that one!" Vegeta said back, and he sounded completely breathless as he spoke.

"Warning? From what? What did you think I was going to do down here?" Even as she spoke, though, her hand was already slowly buffing down the length of his shaft. Caressing every centimeter of him with her palm until she came to a stop at his base, it was hard to stay angry when she saw his head drop back down to the pillow.

A low groan came from Vegeta's throat, though she could tell that he'd kept his mouth shut and had tried to stifle it this time.

"Look at you," She grinned, moving her hand back up to his tip. She was starting on a steady rhythm, pumping him slowly as she watched his chest starting to rise and fall. "This isn't even what I was planning to do, and you can barely handle it. Maybe I don't need to go any further, after all. I think this is all you need..."

"No. WOMAN." His voice was becoming rather raspy. He pushed himself up to a sight sitting position now, so he could get a better look at her. "Keep. Fucking. Going."

"Keep going?" She smiled coyly, her eyes locked on his. And then, still watching his gaze, she bent her head forward to graze her lips against the tip of his member.

His expression had been strained, but when she did this his eyebrows furrowed even more. He let out another loud groan, but this time it sounded as if he'd been punched in the gut. The expression on his face matched the sound perfectly, and he nearly looked as if he was going to throw up...

… That was it.

She had been teasing him, but it was hard not to take offense at a reaction like that. Bulma quickly released him, pushing herself back from his hips. "Well, if that's how you feel, then I'll just stop!"

"What?" Vegeta had fallen on his back again, and he now looked up to her as if he were trying to figure out what had just happened. Blinking dumbly, he stared for any hint of reason.

"What do you mean, what?" She frowned. "What was that face you made?! You're acting like you're in pain!"

"No..."

The Bluehead pushed herself further away, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she did so. Vegeta blinked again as he watched, still coming down from the high he'd just been riding a moment ago. She was acting like she was about to get up and leave, and followed her lead. The saiyan reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back just as she was making to stand. Bulma scowled at him, and Vegeta frowned back. "Don't."

"I thought-" She huffed, her cheeks growing red. She looked as if she were about to even start crying. What the hell was wrong with this girl?! "I thought you were actually enjoying this for a second."

"I am..." Vegeta said sternly, his eyes not leaving her own. "Don't leave."

"Then...-"

"I already told you. The things I want to do to you right now are maddening." He gulped. "It's a trial to my patience to just lay here like this and take your torture."

She was still scowling, but when he said this her look softened. "I figured you thought I was a joke."

"Why the hell would I?!" Now he seemed to be the one getting frustrated.

"I don't know what other girls have done for you." She replied softly. "The way you gagged just now, I thought you-"

"Shut up about other girls." His jaw was clenched. "Never before have I been told to just lay down like a board while my body is tortured with these merciless temptations - if that's what you're wondering."

"Are you being serious?" The Bluehead replied, but she could tell he was. This wasn't the first time Vegeta had said he was having trouble keeping himself in order, and the look on his face confirmed it all. "Is it really that hard for you to not be in control?"

She was smiling now, and the saiyan let out a sigh of relief before letting himself fall on his back again. This woman was so high maintenance - even in moments like this! She was surely going to be the death of him, he just knew it!

"Is the concept of just relaxing while I do this that strange?" She was already snaking back to his body again. "Do you always have to be the one doing the work?"

"Yes." He bit his lip.

Her fingers were running up his thighs now, working their way back to his heated member with a painfully slow pace. Even after all that, she was still testing him. It had just been made strictly clear how she was driving him crazy with these games, and yet she still did it!

Jeez - Why was he even putting himself through this?

Why was he allowing himself to suffer so, when he could easily just flip her on her stomach and slam into her? He'd always had to hold back when he was inside her, his instincts raging at him to pound away until he was nothing more than a satisfied mess. But she had made it clear she required more delicacy than that, and it was always a struggle enough to hold back as it was.

Now she was purposely tormenting him, and if there was ever a time that she deserved to have some sense pounded into her, now was it.

He'd even warned her, hadn't he?

He'd told her very much of what he wanted to do, and still she sat so smugly with his dick in her hands – as if he were a present she was taking her time in unwrapping...

... THAT was IT.

Vegeta decided then and there that he was going to do things his way. He put his palms against the mattress, readying to push himself so he could yank Bulma off her throne of superiority, but something suddenly happened that made him pause.

Kami, he didn't just pause.

He let out another loud groan, his hips spastically jolting as his head slammed back down into the pillow. It was rather violent, to be honest.

He couldn't even think - could hardly even breathe! No longer was he going mad with the need to screw. No longer was he having an internal battle with his body, and what it wanted.

All he could do was lay there, his mouth hanging open like a mindless idiot, with only four words on his mind – this must never end.

She wanted to lecture him about being loud again, but Bulma was rather pleased with his reaction this time. She decided that, if she had to pick, she'd rather him be uncontrollably shouting his praises than gurgling as if he were about to die. However, it wasn't right to just allow such vulgar noises to be made when there were others around that could hear, so Bulma lifted her head so she could give him a quick reminder. "Shh-"

"I know!" He growled, not even moving his head. "I wont - just keep - do not stop again!"

"Consider this a favor..." She whispered. Her hand was wrapped around his throbbing member, her breath hitting his skin as she spoke. "Now, try not to yell or take over. Think of this as a new method of training..."

And then she lowered herself back down, her lips wrapping around the tip of his flesh in a way that made the muscles in his legs tremble.

He was muttering a series of indistinguishable syllables, and they all sounded like a mixture of different languages that Bulma had never heard before. She still had her fingers firmly wrapped around his member, her mouth slowly dragging down his flesh as she took more of him inside.

Kami, he was a challenge. He seemed to grow even larger in size as she took him in, and his grumbles quickly dissipated into a sharp series of hisses. She listened as his hand reached out and grabbed at the bed, clawing at it as his muscles began to quiver even more.

She might have wondered what type of damage he was currently inflicting on the mattress, had she not been distracted. But all the could focus on was the sounds of his breaths, the bobbing of his hips, and her own rhythm that she was trying to maintain as she began to slide her mouth up and down along his skin.

She would take him in as deep as she could - just to the point that his tip was nudging the back of her throat, and then she would slowly draw him out, her fingers massaging the skin that wasn't currently in her mouth.

His gasps were growing louder, yet were muffled all the same, and it sounded as if he had pulled a pillow over his face to stifle himself. Bulma, who had been working slowly, took this as encouragement to increase her speed. And so she did, bobbing up and down her hand mimicked the movements along his base.

Kami, this was incredibly hot - and she'd never heard him making noises like this, not even during their past interactions! It seemed that he was completely losing his mind, his hips rising off the bed to meet her oral thrusts as she continued pumping him with everything she had.

One of his hands shot to her head, and his fingers dug into her hair. She cringed at the roughness of his touch, but Bulma figured it wasn't intentional. Letting out a moan despite her mouth being full, she continued on with even more vigor as she moved. She could tell he was nearing his peak, and so she started a motion of tightening and loosening her lips as they brushed his skin, creating a ripple effect as she worked.

His hand dug even deeper into her hair.

Ouch!

This was actually starting to hurt.

He was digging his fingertips into her scalp, scratching deeper with each passing second. The muffled groans continuing from above, his hips still shifting and rising to meet her enthusiastic pumps. Bulma was really cringing now, trying to power through his grip, but her pain threshold was starting to reach its limit.

And, just when Bulma decided she couldn't take it anymore and would have to stop, a force hit the back of her throat so suddenly that she struggled to keep from throwing up. Vegeta's hand was instantly gone from her head, his body convulsing and twitching as he filled her mouth with his load. He was moaning, huffing, hissing, and sweating, and he was still rhythmically moving against her when she pulled away.

She had wanted to continue rubbing him as he road off his orgasm, and Bulma was trying her best to maintain her composure, but her gag reflex had already been triggered, and she was losing the battle. Unable to take it anymore, she pulled back so abruptly that she fell back off the bed, coughing and hacking like someone who was choking.

Vegeta had been clutching the blanket underneath him as he rode through his ecstasy, but he quickly sat up when he heard Bulma's commotion. She was sitting on the floor by the foot of the bed, red and puffy faced as tear streamed down her cheeks, breathlessly coughing and hitting herself in the chest. "Look at you..." He whispered.

The Bluehead wiped some tears from her eyes, chest heaving as she pursed her lips in attempt to gain control of her lungs.

"I knew that was going to happen!" Vegeta was breathless, but still managed to sound cross, even after what he'd just enjoyed. "I tried to warn you! You didn't pay attention!"

"I..." Bulma coughed again. She took in a deep breath, swallowing as much air as she could, and slowly let it all out. That seemed to finally do the trick, for her lungs had stopped convulsing and she slowly was able to regain her voice. "I could have prevented that, I have a method - but I was distracted. You were really hurting me. I wasn't able to-"

"I hurt you?" The saiyan jumped from the bed. "Damnit, this is what I was talking about! I didn't want to lose control of myself and injure you throat!"

"I'm fine." Bulma replied. He was by her side now, looking closely at her face as if he'd detect some sort of a wound on her. She leaned away, shaking her head. "Not like that... It was my head. Your fingers were-"

"I was trying to get you to stop." He interrupted. "I knew I was going to finish, and I didn't want-"

"It's fine!" Bulma replied again. Now she was actually starting to feel a bit shy under the radar of Vegeta's eyes. He seemed so absolutely astounded and concerned, and it'd been the last thing she'd expected when she had decided to perform this act. "I was expecting for you to, well… you know. I was just caught off guard because your fingers were hurting me..."

She pushed herself up onto her feet. There was a mess on the front of her gown, a souvenir of everything she'd failed to swallow down. "Next time it'll end better, okay?" She commented, turning towards the door. "Just don't clamp down on my head again, and I won't be distracted."

"Where are you going?" Vegeta asked. It was then that Bulma realized he was still out of breath.

"I need to rinse off."

"Oh."

"Do you?"

"No. I feel rather clean, actually. You made sure of that."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure I got everything on MYSELF…"

… Vegeta watched as she disappeared out the door, leaving him alone as he stood in the center of the room. Still in disbelief at everything that had just happened, he clambered over to the bed and sat down.

Stunned.

He was absolutely stunned.

This race of Earth weaklings sure had... creative ways about them, didn't they?

It was strange, Vegeta was feeling dumbfounded - absolutely blindsided by what had just occurred. He'd wanted to just fuck the hell out of her and listen to her moan, to feel her squirm and beg him for more. He was somewhat disappointed that this hadn't come to fruition, and yet he still felt immensely satisfied.

He was completely satiated, and, amid the mix of everything else that was quivering through his body, Vegeta also felt incredibly lucky.

Grateful, even.

This hadn't seemed pleasant for Bulma in the slightest, and yet she had been so utterly enthusiastic about it. She hadn't even complained when she'd nearly suffocated on his release! All she'd done was smile, and he was amazed at what she was willing to be put herself through in order to bring him to pleasure

For him, it had been worth it. He'd let her do that again to him indefinitely, if she insisted. It had happened so fast, had felt like such a whirlwind, and he was already wishing to get sucked in again.

He heard as water began to run through the pipes in the walls. And he fell back, his head spinning as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What a woman..."

.

It wasn't that long before Bulma slipped back in the room, shutting off the light as she went. She crawled into bed, found a spot beside the saiyan, and curled up in the blanket.

He rolled over so he could put his arms around her, and he pulled her into his body. She was quick to nuzzle against him, listening to the deep draws of his breath as he relaxed against her.

He had been asleep, but he was awake enough now to plant a kiss on her forehead in the darkness.

"Vegeta." Bulma whispered, knowing that if the saiyan prince would ever be in an agreeable mood, it would be after what they'd just done. "I wanted to tell you. Gohan will not fight with you. He's going to stay with me."

"He already told us he wanted to proceed," The saiyan replied groggily, sounding as if he was still asleep. "You're too late with this."

"It doesn't matter what he said - he's a child. I am making the decision for him."

"Perhaps if he was a human, like you, I might consider that. But he has saiyan genes in his blood, and it's in his will to fight."

"His mom was a human."

"Right. And his dad was a saiyan."

"Vegeta-" She started, but his arms tightened around her. He put a hand to the back of her head, pressing her cheek into his chest.

"Don't." He whispered. "Just go to sleep, Woman... It's late."

His chest was so warm, and the safe feeling that came with his large arms protectively holding her was too tempting to resist. She was already drifting into her dreams, so his suggestion didn't even feel unreasonable…

But, with the last trace of consciousness she had left, the Bluehead sighed. "I am going to win with this..."

"No." Vegeta said, planting another kiss on the top of her head. "You won't…"

AN:

This chapter is long enough as it is, so I'll make it quick. I've written lemon scenes before, but I think this is my first time writing a scene like that one. This entire chapter was a flex for my writing muscle, but that's something I really enjoy about this story. It's brought me out of my comfort zone so many times, and I think I really needed to experience that.

Thank you for your feedback, as always. It probably gets old for me to say that every time I update, but I don't think I'll ever stop feeling so flattered and grateful when I see responses to what I write.

Have a great weekend! And, just so you know, the next update will probably be much shorter than this one was, but it's already in the works!