Dragon Ball Z: Pride Before A Fall - 3

      It was early morning when Vegeta woke up – dark and for a moment he forgot where he was.  His mouth hung half open, blinking at the ceiling till he turned his head to the side and saw Bulma, snuggled against his arm, sleeping lost in contentment.  He continued to stare at her as his mind cleared and then he smiled, giving a proud chuckle.
      He’d done it.  He’d won Bulma’s affections.  Now the only question remained was how far to take it?  That would really depend, of course, on how this little affair had affected him.  He had to find out.  Slipping his arm out of her cuddles, he got out of the bed.  Most of the bandages had come loose during the night so he tore the rest of them off, holding up his hand and flexing his fingers.
      He tightened his brow and grinned, clenching his hands into fists.  Yes!  It had worked!  He felt stronger already!  Vegeta began to cackle, pointing his palm at the nearby window, beginning to charge a ball of warbling energy.  His laughter grew stronger as it grew until it shot out through the window, shattering the glass and exploding in the sky.  Vegeta let the light wash over him with satisfaction, the breeze from the broken window quivering over his hair.
      Suddenly, Bulma groaned.  Vegeta froze, his eyes jerking to her with a cringe.  He waited, but she just sprayed out on the bed, opened her mouth, and began to snore.  He gave her an obnoxious look, snorting and beginning the search for his pants.  The search didn’t last long, as he noticed that his combat uniform, minus the armored chest piece, lay washed and out for him.  Bulma must have gotten them while he slept…or God forbid, her mother.  He held them up and sniffed them, recoiling with disgust.  No, it had been her mother!  That blundering pea brain had come in here while they were sleeping!  Blast it all, she must have had a key!
      Vegeta clenched his fist around the clothes as he growled with disgust, his face falling into a simple frown as he let it go.  Whatever, small price to pay to surpass Kakarot.  Ignoring the honey scent, he pulled on his pants, slipping his tank top over his head, stepping into his boots and straightening and tucking so that the top and pants became solid as one.  Lastly, he reached for his white combat gloves, pulling one over his right hand and watching it stretch against his knuckles.
       “Well, look at you,” Bulma cooed.  Vegeta stopped and growled, his back to her as she sat up in bed, “Normally, it’d be extremely impolite to let a girl wake up alone, but I’ll let it slide this time.”
      Vegeta grunted.  “Go back to sleep.”
       “Oh I will,” she assured, bracing her chin and elbow against the bed, “I just got a question I wanted to ask you.”  He said nothing, reaching for his other glove.  “Sooo…how was it?  Your first time?”  She saw the blush touch his ears and she tipped back her head in a loud laugh.
      He growled.  “Stop that!  Stop that now!”
      But she kept on laughing, touching her mouth to finish with a giggle.  “Well, I have to say, when I imagined spending the night with a Saiyan, I had figured you’d last a bit longer.  But at least it was intense!”  She started laughing again.
       “Mmmrrr!  I did just fine!!!”
       “Oh of course you did, really, I’m just teasing.  You should learn to lighten up, Vegeta.”
       “Hmph.”  He pulled his other glove on.
      Bulma blinked.  “Are you heading out to train already?”
       “Yes.  Is there a problem with that?”
      She narrowed her brow a bit.  “No, it was just a question.  If you want to use the ship again, I got all the upgrades installed and it seems to work…hey are you listening to me?”
      Vegeta stood still and perfectly silent, gazing intently at his right hand.  He hummed and removed his glove.  “Bulma.  I’m going to ask you again that question I asked you before.  And I want to know the absolute truth.”  He turned to face her, his look grave and the glove clenched at his side.  “Did you really mean it?  Do you believe in my strength as the Prince of All Saiyans and my destiny to be the greatest warrior in the universe?”
      Bulma’s mouth hung open for a moment, taken aback by his sudden seriousness.  She blinked a few times, finally turning serious herself.  “Yeah, I did mean it.  What do you take me for, a liar?”
      He stared at her with his hard gaze.  “Very well.  If that truly is the case…” He held out his arm and opened his palm, extending the removed glove to her.  “Then take my glove and keep it on your person until night falls again.  You have until then to decide.  If your change your mind before then, return it to me.”
      Bulma fell into a gaze of amazement once more, taking the offered glove and looking at it.  “Wow, Vegeta…that’s really sweet and sentimental of you!”  She smiled and winked.  “I knew there was more to you than that rough exterior.”
       “Don’t read too much into it, woman,” he snarled, “Just do as I instruct.”
       “Fair enough,” she smiled, laying the glove over her shoulder.  He turned to walk away and she loudly cleared her throat.  “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
       “Grr, what now?”
       “Well, when you spend time with a girl, you really should give her a kiss before going.”
       “Are you really going to keep wasting my time with your games?”
       “Don’t give me lip.  I put up with your bruising me pretty badly a few hours ago, I deserve one little kiss.”
      He folded his arms and glared away from her with a grunt.  “Fine.  Whatever you say.  But if you really want it so bad you’re going to have to come over here to get it.”
      Bulma met his challenge, getting out from the bed and walking towards him.  Vegeta’s eyes shifted to the side, taking in her naked form, a faint blush appearing on his cheekbones.  Bulma grabbed his arms and put them around her, taking his face in her hands and kissing him.  Vegeta’s brow lifted slightly as her lips wrapped around his and he kissed her back, his grip on her back tightening, one hand gloved the other bare.
      Is this it? he wondered, Is this what it feels like to care for someone?
      Bulma ran her fingers through his hair – she seemed to enjoy doing that – and pulled back at last.  “Now, you better get busy with that training.  I expect you to be able to smash those androids all by yourself!”
      Vegeta grew a crooked grin.  “Oh don’t worry…I will.”
      It seemed he had chosen well, after all.  She was truly perfect.