The flash of lightning reached her senses through closed eyes, awakening her slightly. Only when the thunder crashed did she flinch, and sit up in a cold sweat. A cold sweat!

Bulma looked down at herself and then to the fluttering curtains around her open french doors. She quickly stood and shut the doors, jumping as another flash of lightning threatened loud thunder behind it. Bulma covered her ears and jumped back into bed, not bothering to lay back down. Instead, (once the thunder had made itself known), she lowered her hands from her ears and looked to the clock. 5:47am.

Bulma raked her hair back with one of her hands, remembering the odd dream she’d had. It had been so vivid. She slowly thought and remembered that it had been real. In fact, she had only fallen back asleep about an hour ago. She pulled her knee up and ran her fingers over the tender scrape she hadd earned while running back from the ‘scene’.

Bulma bit her lip and looked around the room, wondering what had happened afterward. Had Vegeta come back? Did he do this sort of thing every night?

She began to feel the heavy-ness of her limbs and eyes, and gave in to lying back down. She shushed her own curiosity and closed her eyes, hugging a pillow over her head as the thunder rolled more.

Eventually, the pattering of rain helped her drift to sleep, dreamlessly this time.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Vegeta woke to the sound of thunder, and immediately rose from his bed. He had only gotten about an hour of sleep, but it was time to begin warming up for the day.He couldn’t remember a day since he left Vegetasei that he’d actually ‘slept in’.

The current culture he lived in seemed to relish in slumber, considering the late hours of the morning to be early. The Saiyan never could understand why such beings would need to stay in a subconscious world for longer than a span of a few hours. It was merely a time for the body to rest. These humans seemed to seek out dreams, where Saiyans fought to keep them short and simple.

In the dream he had just woken from, Vegeta had only seen more flashes of the woman he lived with; specifically those of her watching him as he ate. The last thing he’d needed was to see her there, and he reminded himself to ask her why exactly she hadd followed him.

He scoffed to himself as his thought train drifted. It usually only did so in the morning and late at night when he had less of a reign on his own mind.

Pulling one of his training shirts on, he used the window (as always) to exit the house and head for the gravity chamber. Vegeta would never admit to being polite to those who housed him, and only attributed his exit as the quickest way out.

Beginning to warm up, Vegeta shut off his mind except for specific barking commands at himself to work harder.

- - - - - - - - -

Leaning on the edge of the counter, Bulma took another long, slow sip of coffee. She had stopped herself while reaching for a cigarette and decided to take a coffee break instead. Silently doodling sketches for the next basic capsule layout, she stopped when she heard when someone step into the kitchen through the back door.

"Oh hey da- Vegeta!" she turned fully around and placed both hands on her coffee cup when she realized it wasn’t her father. "Well… " she glanced at her watch "You’re early today aren’t you? Do you uhhm....want some coffee?" she stammered slightly, realizing the high pitched voice she was using and wondering why she felt fearful.

She watched as he sat promptly at the kitchen table, looking around the room before making his request "No, water."

Bulma swallowed a scoff and grabbed a cup, filling it and setting it in front of him. "There then…" she said, returning to her spot by the counter. She leaned back over her work, only pretending to write, since her hand was shaking too much to do so.

She wondered why she suddenly felt fearful. When Vegeta had first returned, she had been petrified. Her usual quick witted, loud-mouthed remarks took over to cover for it, but she made sure to do as he wished and try to stay away from him. Over the months she realized for herself that he wasn’t up for any killing, only training himself and being ignorant of everything else. She began to fall back to her normal self, though she was unusually testy with him in particular.

"So you’ve taken up stalking now?" came his voice from behind her.

She dropped her pencil, but stayed with her back facing him still, her eyes moving to the left and right as she searched for something to say.

"What do you mean?" was all she could find for the moment. She could almost hear him bristle.

"You know exactly what I mean you fool!" he barked in a more strained voice, though just as low.

Bulma set her jaw and felt her fear drain away as she spun on her heel, folding her arms over the button down dress shirt she wore.

"Look," she said in a much more confident, simple tone. "Your exit last night wasn’t exactly stealth, and I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I figured ‘hey! Why not test the ki-tracker I just recently polished off’," she barely blinked before adding one last statement. "I followed it to your exact area and stumbled upon your little campout! I didn’t want to interrupt, so I left!"

Vegeta smirked "Left! More like ran as fast as those weak legs could take you," he took one quick last gulp of his water and stood to leave. "Try to keep your nose to yourself next time." He turned on that note, and walked out the back door.

The hot tempered scientist stormed after him and chucked her coffee mug in his general direction "Bite me, Vegeta!!"

The Saiyan prince stopped before turning the corner, and lifted an arm to blast the small glass mug in one short motion. His black eyes met hers, disgust clear in them.

"You’d like it too much," he quipped. Vegeta spat on the ground in front of him for show before disappearing behind the wall.

Bulma stood hunched up, as close to ‘bristled’ as a human could get. She nearly had steam coming out of her red ears and her hands were fisted stiffly at her sides. It took her about fifteen mintues to even move from that spot, and from there she headed straight for the lab. - - - - - - - - - -

He had spent the rest of the day with a smirk on his face, feeling as if victory had been his after the fight with the resident bitch.

Vegeta was set aback when he found himself amused during the verbal battle. He remembered his days with Nappa and even those with his father. Verbal battles were as frequent as physical ones, although there wasn’t a Saiyan alive who could outwit Vegeta. He had been quick with his tongue from the day he learned to speak.

Once under Freeza’s domineering community, however, his wit was quickly stomped out of him. Freeza himself had an articulate sense of just about every language in the multiverse. The only time Vegeta had felt at home was when he was sent on missions with Nappa. The larger, bald Saiyan had never been very bright though, and Vegeta was easily bored with him. That left him either cowering captives and overly powerful ‘bosses’.

When he came to live on earth and began communicating with her, things began to come back. He wouldn’t allow himself to admit it, but she actually gave him a good verbal bout every once in awhile, and it kept him on his toes.

He quickly dodged one of his own blasts, wondering if Kakarott would be free for a fight later on. He was the only one to keep him on his toes in physical battles.

Vegeta smirked to himself. Plus it was an easy way to learn his fighting style.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hours later, Bulma was on her back, twisting a wrench and cursing like a sailor under her breath. A sound caught her attention, and she stopped mid-curse and looked to her left. Her father was slowly backing out of the room with an odd look on his face. She’d just been in the middle of a stream of curses and he likely didn’t want to bother her.

"Oh, come on in dad, I’m just angry with Vegeta again," she sighed and sat up, wiping her forehead and glancing back to the bulky machine."

"I see," her father said. "That boy always has a way with words, I’m guessing he showed off his skills?" he was smirking under a heavy mustache.

Bulma nodded and scowled. "He’s a pain in my ass. I don’t know why I put up with the bastard!" she sneered and shook her head, standing up and looking to the machine. "So, you know me. Whenever I get mad, it’s back to this old thing."

Her father nodded and stepped forward, running a tentative finger over the blackened motor area. "Did you try a new generator like I suggested?" he asked.

Bulma gave a curt nod. "No go. I’m going to test it without that vacuum plug. When I replaced the old fuel injector, I think that took care of it. The plug might actually be stalling the starter," she bit her lower lip in thought. "

He nodded and ‘hmm’-ed in acceptance. "That’s a right-fine idea sweetheart."

She smiled and looked over at him. "Thanks, daddy. I’ve gotta take the whole motor apart to get the plug out though, so I’m working on that while I’ve got the extra energy boost. It’s a great way to work off anger!"

Dr. Briefs smiled and patted her shoulder. "I know. If you need coffee or anything, just call your mother on the panel. She sent me in here to check on you."

Bulma smiled again and plopped back down on the floor "I will, but tell her I’ll be done in a few minutes. I'm too hungry to go on much longer!" she slid back under the large machine as her father exited.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Touching the clear button on the side of the tub to stop the water, Bulma sighed and slid back into the hot bubbly water. She hadd finished her dinner, and was now thankful that Vegeta hadn’t showed up. She had wondered idly why he didn’t but remembered this morning’s confrontation and decided to drop it.

"Should have dropped it last night instead of following the son-of-a-bitch" she spoke outloud to herself, watching the bubbles on her hand pop and fizzle.

Bulma lifted her hair and laid her head against the marble back of the tub. Just as her eyes began to loll shut, the phone by the tub rang. Sitting up quickly, but not exiting the tub, she spoke outloud "Two, four, six , three." The house phones could be activated by voice codes. The one she’d said was one for picking up, but not activating the videophone.

"Bulma? Bulma! I heard you pick up I need your help!"

Bulma slapped her forehead and squinted her eyes lightly. "Not again…please don’t tell me Chi Chi.." she practically mumbled.

"Oh I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! That demon has taken my husband away again..."

Bulma stood out of the bathtub, half-listening to Chi Chi’s loud rant. She towel dried herself and wrapped a silky robe around her body, tying it quickly and turning towards the phone to say goodbye.

As she opened her mouth to say so, she was quickly interrupted. "Oh no! Nevermind!!" and the phone cut off.

She shifted the hair out of her face and reminded herself to smack Chi Chi next time she saw her. That woman was going to give herself a heart attack one day.

Now, she had said nevermind, but was there still trouble? "No…of course not. Goku and Vegeta were probably just sparring and Chi Chi went berzerk. I swear, he does it on purpose. Probably shows up at her house personally and grabs Goku by the lapel, just to make a show out of it," Bulma grumbled on as she drained the water from the tub, adding in more comments about her too-short bath.

She put her hair up into a haphazard bun and shook her head as she exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. Coffee, TV, and then bed. She would get to relax or it’d be the end of her.

She was pouring her coffee when she heard her name being called from out the back door. Bulma made a short growl in frustration and opened the door quickly, screaming "What?" before she even knew who it was.

Goku stood looking as innocent as he always did, even bloodied and tattered with Vegeta slung over his shoulder like a bag of grain.

"He kinda passed out and I saw you go into the kitchen. So... well, I figured you didn’t want his blood all over the floor so... where should I take him?" he quirked a brow.

Bulma sighed and motioned for him to follow her. She left the kitchen door open and walked around the building in bare feet, still clad in her robe (but she knew Goku wouldn’t take notice of its thin quality in the first place). She reached an outside hangar and opened the door, flicking the lights on and pointing to a cot surrounded by strange medical devices.

"Stick him there" she sighed, approaching the closet and pulling out a few viles of purple liquid. She turned to Goku. "Does Chi Chi need anymore regen fluid?"

He shook his head no. "Nah we’ve got a closet full too!" he said, fixing Vegeta on the cot. "Do you need any more help?" he asked.

Bulma shook her head. "Thanks Goku."

He grinned and disappeared. Stupid invisible transmission... crap. She grumbled and approached Vegeta with a cloth and bottle of re-gen fluid. The same liquid used in the regeneration tank, Bulma had re-created and bottled for herself and Chi Chi. Usually, Vegeta knew where to find it himself, but this time he was unconscious, so it was up to her.

"Of course," she sighed and looked him over once. "Ugh… don't you people ever stop?" Bulma looked over the gashes on his chest and legs. He was still fully dressed, and she wasn’t about to un-dress him.

Quickly pouring the liquid in large amounts, she saturated the cuts and merely ripped holes in the fabric where she needed to. Just as she was about to cap off the liquid, she noticed one more deep cut above his eyebrow. She leaned over and dabbed the liquid on it, placing a smaller cloth over it to keep the bleeding down. She glanced down at herself and clamped the top of her robe shut. Had the Saiyan been awake, she would have just given him a generous view down her robe.

Bulma placed the supplies back in the closet and lifted a white sheet over him, not even caring that his boots were still on. She smirked on her way out as she thought of how Vegeta would have reacted to such a situation. Was he as clueless as Goku when it came to such things? Then again, he had made that bite comment earlier....

"No. No, no, no!" she said to herself, shaking her head and waving her hands around in front of her. Bulma shut the kitchen door behind her and picked up where she left off on the coffee, trying not to think of the Saiyan Prince in that way.

But as much as she tried, she couldn’t keep the new curiosity out of her mind. What exactly would Vegeta find sexual? Did Saiyans even have sex, or was it all biotechnics?

The scientific part of her mind was mixing with the hormonal part, and Bulma didn’t even think what kind of train wreck that might cause.