Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Friend in Need ❯ Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it, not making even half a cent on it. You get the drill.


"Hey, Vegeta." Bulma sat down at the kitchen table, where Vegeta was consuming a large breakfast of bacon and eggs her mother had cooked.

Vegeta swallowed. "Hey, yourself," he grunted.

"It's so nice out and I'm having a good day physically," she began, resting a hand over her still flat belly, "so I thought I'd take the day off today."

"Yeah?" Vegeta took a good gulp of his juice.

"So... I was wondering if you'd like to go to the beach with me." Bulma looked at him expectantly.

He looked up from his food at her. He'd planned on training all day, but the way she was looking at him was quickly weakening his resolve, as was the mere thought of seeing her voluptuous body in a bathing suit. "The beach?"

"Yeah." Bulma graced him with a smile. "Mom said she'd pack us a picnic lunch."

She was smiling at him. At him. He felt his belly do a flip-flop. Gods, she was beautiful. How could he deny such a woman? "I suppose so."

"Thanks Vegeta." Bulma got up from her seat and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

The flip-flop in Vegeta's stomach got even worse. He ran his hands over his head in frustration. She probably had no idea of what she was doing to him. Stay calm, Vegeta. Stay calm...

He wanted her. Oh, but he wanted her. Not as just a friend, but much, much more than that. He wanted to caress her skin, kiss her lips, hear her moans of pleasure as he took her body. He wanted to hold her in his arms at night and wake up beside her every morning. He wanted to protect her and please her, only her. He couldn't explain what the aching feeling he had inside for her was, but it continually grew stronger.

She had told him that he was her friend. Although he'd never had a true friend before Bulma, he knew what a friend was, someone with whom one enjoyed an affinity. Would she ever see him as more than that? He'd thought it must be so after their encounter in his bedroom, but in the two weeks that had passed since then, she had never broached the subject to him. She wasn't avoiding him, but sometimes acted a little hesitant around him, as if she wanted to say or do something but wasn't. If she wanted him, wouldn't she have already said so?

He sighed and put his plates in the sink. He couldn't go on like this much longer. Maybe he could ask her while they were alone. They could get a spot on the beach where few people were. It had pleased her that he agreed to go. Maybe she would tell him how she felt about him, if she really did feel anything more for him other than companionship.

***

Bulma shut her bedroom door and leaned back against it. Vegeta hadn't exactly seemed overly interested in going to the beach, but at least he'd agreed. She sighed. Her attraction to him grew stronger every day. She'd called him her friend, hoping that he would at least understand that much, and he'd seemed to. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but didn't want to scare him off. Maybe getting out of the house together on a 'date' of sorts would help her determine if there was any chance of something more than friendship between them. Then again, considering how he'd kissed her... Her head was swimming with a million 'what ifs'.

She went over to her dresser and pulled out a swimsuit and a bikini. She wasn't sure which one to wear. The bikini was quite flattering to her figure and her pregnancy wasn't showing yet, but she didn't want to be too forward.

"Oh, hell with it." Bulma crammed the swimsuit back into her drawer. She wanted his attention, didn't she? If the bikini didn't get a reaction out of him, she'd know it was hopeless.

***

"Dear, those swim trunks look very nice on you," Mrs. Briefs commented. She didn't particularly care about the swim trunks, but he was such a handsome young man and she couldn't help but look at him. She was a healthy woman, for heaven's sake! Just because she looked didn't mean she intended anything else.

"Uhm, thanks," Vegeta mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable. He was wearing a t-shirt and shoes with his swimwear, which he was eternally grateful was the loose kind and not the kind he had seen male divers on the television wear. Regardless, he was beginning to think that perhaps he should have worn some shorts over the trunks as well.

"Ready?" Bulma's voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to look her way.

Damn. She too had shorts and a t-shirt on over her swimwear. Ah, well. He'd see what she had selected when they got to the beach. "Yes, I'm ready to go if you are."

"Yup. I've got my sunscreen and my book and I'm all set." Bulma had a small bag over her shoulder and some towels under one arm. "The beach umbrella is still in my trunk. Would you mind grabbing our lunch, Vegeta?"

"Sure." The quicker they got out of there, the quicker he'd be away from Bulma's mother, who made no attempt to try to hide her staring. He picked up the basket containing their lunch and followed Bulma out to her car.

Bulma stuffed everything into the trunk. "Okay, let's go."

***

Vegeta was having quite a difficult time remaining calm as Bulma casually rubbed lotion over the parts of her body which were exposed to the sun, which just so happened to be almost everything. She was beautiful, and he couldn't help but watch her, and wish all the more that she was his woman. He'd never lust after another female were she his. Why would he want to?

"Vegeta? Would you mind helping me with my back, please?" Bulma held out the suntan lotion to him.

"Sure..." Kami, she wanted him to touch her and run his hands along her naked body! He held in a tremor as she laid face down on a towel, and nearly choked on his tongue when she reached back and untied her top, leaving her back and the sides of her breasts exposed. His loose trunks were hiding his reaction for the time being, but he was afraid that when he touched her, it would be a moot point. He knelt down beside her and squeezed some of the lotion into his hands, took in a deep breath, and began to rub it on her back.

"Mmm... Veg, that feels so good," Bulma said with a sigh. "Thanks."

The thoughts that statement brought to mind made his situation even worse. ~Kami, be merciful...~ "No problem," he managed.

Bulma turned a little so she could look at him. His voice had sounded somewhat stressed. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Yes, fine." Vegeta wiped his hands on his towel and sat down beside her, looking straight out at the water.

Bulma reached behind her and did up her top. "You're acting strangely," she told him as she sat up. "What is it?"

How to tell her? Well, he'd wanted to talk to her. There was no point in prolonging what needed to be said. "I, uhm..." So far he was doing quite a poor job of it. "I'm a man, Bulma," he began.

She giggled. "Yes, I certainly noticed that," she said, winking at him.

He let out a strained little noise. "You're an attractive woman, Bulma, and you're making it very difficult for me to remain in proper conduct."

Her eyebrow rose. "You're worried about proper conduct after what happened between us?" Was that what this weird behavior was about?

"Incidentally, why did you do that?" Vegeta asked, taking advantage of the opening she'd unwittingly given him. "It's not exactly what I would expect out of a friend."

Bulma felt her cheeks flush slightly. "Why did you kiss me the way you did?" she countered. "Friends don't exactly go around kissing each other the way you kissed me."

"I..." Vegeta was trapped.

"Do you really think I'm attractive?" Bulma asked softly.

The way her soft blue eyes were looking at him made his heart leap. "Bulma, you're beautiful. You make me ache, here," he confessed, placing a hand over his heart. "No one else has ever done that to me." He forced himself to keep looking at her, even though his first instinct was to look away and hide his embarrassment.

Her mouth opened ever so slightly and her eyes grew shiny with unshed tears. "I..." Her lips began to tremble, and he was afraid that he'd said the wrong thing.

"Bulma, I'm sorry. Don't cry," he mumbled uncomfortably. "I should have just kept my mouth shut."

She gave him a watery smile. "No, I'm glad you told me," she whispered. "I... I feel an attraction for you, too."

A rush of elation surged through Vegeta's veins. "You do?"

She nodded, her cheeks a little pink. "Come swim with me." With that, she ran for the water, looking back over her shoulder once to see if he would follow.

He got to his feet immediately and chased after her. Oh, but she truly had no concept of what her behavior meant in Saiyan terms. Saiyan males loved chasing their females as much as the females loved attracting attention from their males. The chase gave the females a sense of power over their mates, one that the males could not resist. Of course, the chase also tended to end in a wrestling match between the two of them with the stronger male dominating and claiming the female. He shoved the thought away for the moment. If she really meant what he thought she might, there would be time for that later.

No sooner had Bulma's feet touched the water were his hands at her waist. She squealed in excitement as he lifted her from her feet and carried her out into the water.

***

Bulma squeezed the water from her hair and dried off with a towel before sitting down on another one. "Oh, the water was so nice, don't you think, Vegeta?"

"Yes, I enjoyed our swim," he agreed, sitting down on his own towel. She giggled as he shook his head, droplets of water flying from his hair.

"Stop, I just dried off and you're going to make me all wet!" she exclaimed.

A slow smirk slid across his lips. "What a pity that would be," he purred.

She blushed, very well aware that he wasn't thinking of water in the least. "You're a very naughty man, Vegeta," she informed him, lying down on her side.

The smirk grew wider and he leaned down onto one elbow closer to her. "Perhaps you should punish me," he suggested flirtatiously, enjoying the blush that graced her pretty cheeks.

"Here and now? I didn't peg you as such an exhibitionist, Vegeta," Bulma flirted right back. This was fun! This was Vegeta! She wasn't sure what exactly he meant, but it was rather obvious. It wasn't the first time he'd flirted with her, she realized, and he'd told her that she was beautiful, that she made him ache. What else could he mean?

A low chuckle rumbled in Vegeta's chest and he propped his chin in his hand. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he countered slyly. "I'm not a shy man."

"Only when it comes to my mother," Bulma countered back. "I've seen how you hide from her!" She laughed when his cheeks turned pink. "Don't worry, she's harmless. She just loves to window shop, if you get what I mean."

Window shop: a human expression which meant to look at, but not to touch the object being examined. He let out an embarrassed little growl. "I'm young enough to be her son. She shouldn't be so lecherous," he objected.

She giggled some more. "Like I said, she doesn't mean any harm. She thinks you're a 'handsome young man'," she continued, mimicking her mother's voice, "and appreciates what she sees."

"Hmm." Vegeta reached out with his free hand and took a piece of her wet hair between his fingers. "And how do you feel on the subject, Bulma?"

Bulma dropped her eyes and nibbled at her lip. "We aren't talking about my mother any more, are we?"

"Hardly." Vegeta tucked the hair behind one ear and tipped her chin up so she would look at him.

She looked up at him and met his eyes. They were so deep, so dark, so intense. She felt herself being sucked inside, powerless to resist.

It wasn't as though she wanted to. She hadn't felt this way about anyone, not even Yamcha, when she thought she'd loved him with all her heart and soul. That hadn't been real love. She knew that now. Her eyes grew heavy when his hand left her chin to cup her cheek. Their faces drew closer together. He was going to kiss her, no doubt about it. Her heart beat faster in her chest as she remembered when he'd done it before. She'd said it had been nice. She'd thought it was far more than nice. "Vegeta..."

He was far more than a friend.

He was going to kiss her. Right there on the beach, right in front of everyone. Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt the warmth of his breath so close to her lips.