A/N: Usual Disclaimer…do not own DBZ…The Cure or any of their songs…

Chapter Eleven: The Daily Grind

Marron huffed her way right out of the house. No amount of coddling from Yamcha could abate her temper tantrum. She marched out to his air car and stood next to expectantly, waiting for Yamcha to open the door for her.

Yamcha paused at the front door and smiled apologetically at Bulma. "Can you wait here for a sec?" he asked her. "I have to tell you something."

Bulma nodded and watched Yamcha stroll out to his pouting date. She could hear bits and pieces of their conversation; which varied from him whining and pleading with her, to her imperial demands of material compensation.

It pained Bulma to see her long time friend reduced to the role of a 'poor chump' promising jewelry to a beautiful girl, just to keep her at his side. Yamcha deserved better than that and Bulma decided she would tell him so when he returned to talk to her; if he returned to talk to her. Right now he was in the process of making up and making out with Marron.

Repulsed Bulma turned her attention to a noise behind her. It was a shirtless Vegeta sneaking into the bathroom. She gave him only a cursory glance however, as hot as she was for the Saiyan Prince, she had no need to indulge in any of his toilet activities.

"Let's just hope he doesn't decide to camp out in there," she muttered to herself. She rubbed her lower backside. 'Gods! Her ass ached'.

She was in desperate need of some aspirin and a long hot bath. And as soon as she could get rid of Yamcha and his hussy girlfriend, she planned on giving her hurting body the rest it was demanding.

She was just about to yell out to Yamcha to call her later with what ever he wanted to tell her when Vegeta poked his head out of the bathroom door.

"Woman, come here!"

Bulma rolled her eyes and limped over to the demanding Prince. She made a big production of limping over to him, trying to show him that what ever it was that he wanted would be too much for her injured body to handle.

He frowned at her dramatics and thrust his arm through the crack in the door. "Is this the only cleaning material we have? I need to sterilize my mouth!" he stated showing her a tube of tooth -paste. Bulma cocked an eyebrow in surprise, 'She certainly hadn't expected this!'

Bulma leaned on her good leg and crossed her arms in front of her, "No, there is some mouth wash in the cupboard, why?" She was curious and assumed it might have something to do with Marron.

Vegeta frowned and snapped, "None of your business! Now tell me what this 'mouth wash' looks like. I need it this instant!"

She leaned heavily against the wall and glared at him. "Don't be so bossy Vegeta! I just want to know what has gotten you so worked up. What did that little tramp do to you?" she asked suspiciously.

Vegeta pulled open the cupboard door and began to rifle through knocking shampoos and jars of cream to the floor. He was irate and had little patience. He needed to rid himself of the repulsive taste that filled his mouth.

He pulled out three look-alike bottles and scowled. "Damn it woman! How many blasted vials of bubble bath do you need?" He turned to throw them in the waste bucket.

Bulma grabbed the containers from his hand, "Hey! Those are mine, Vegeta!" She shot him an angry indignant look. "What in the Hell has gotten into you, anyway?" Bulma stepped in front of him and shoved the bubbles back into the closet. She then pulled out the coveted mouth -wash and held it possessively to her chest.

Vegeta eyed the bottle and made a swipe to steal it from her clutched hands, she only held it to her body more tightly. "If you must know, you nosy Woman. I kissed that foul creature and now I need to rinse the taste out!"

Vegeta lunged again for the breath freshener, but Bulma backed away just out of his reach. She flattened herself against the wall, fingers gripping the neck of the bottle like a vice.

Her eyes widened and threatened to spill out tears, "You…you…kissed Marron?" Her voice betrayed her with a noticeable quiver.

Vegeta forgot his own "oral" troubles for a moment and looked at her in surprise. The woman seemed to on the verge of crying!

'Why did you just tell her that, you idiot?' spat the voice in his head. 'You've obviously upset her, now you need to repair the damage…if you still harbor any hopes of sleeping with this female!'

Vegeta secretly wondered when the 'voice of reason' had sided with his dick? 'Ever since your dick decided kissing Marron was a good idea!' quipped the voice.

Vegeta concluded that he must be losing his mind. Here he was arguing to himself, while alienating the one being on this Earth that actually cared about him. He watched as disappointment and hurt clouded Bulma's eyes and realized he should worry less about staying on her good side for sex, to staying on her good side, period.

But what could he do to remedy this situation? Instantly he knew he must straightforward with her, she deserved this. But could he trust her or would she laugh in his face? He took a single tentative step towards her.

Bulma, in the mean time was battling those stubborn tears that threatened to leak down her cheeks. She forced herself to keep her eyes open; a single blink would let the water works out. And there was no way she would give the asshole Prince the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"Wh…why did you kiss her?" she asked softly. "I thought you wanted to kiss me". There, she had said it. She watched him warily as he moved even closer to her.

He was looking deep into her eyes, watching them flood a clearer shade of blue. She had every right to be angry with him. He was man enough to admit that.

Letting his façade fall away, he said simply, "I did want to kiss you and I still do."

Bulma exhaled slowly, surprised to find she had been holding her breath. She felt herself relax at his admission. She searched his face for any sign of deception and found only bare honesty. She had never seen this side of Vegeta before, gone was the perpetual scowl and the apathetic regard. He was offering her the truth; it was all he had to give.

He reached out and covered her hands with one of his own, "Woman, you left me in such a state of desire, I couldn't even see straight. And when you left with that weakling, I was angry. It seemed you were eager to replace me with someone less worthy, so I did the same. Unfortunately for me, that little whore did nothing for me, but to fill my mouth with the remains of her previous blow job."

Bulma's eyes widened, as she absorbed his confession. 'Marron kissed Vegeta with a mouth full of Yamcha's jizz?'

She burst out in a hysterical laugh. She was still on the verge of sobbing, but she was also relieved …Vegeta still wanted her. She thrust the bottle towards him, "Here, you really do need this! Just swirl some of this around in your mouth for a few seconds. Don't swallow it though, it will make you sick."

She was now laughing and crying. She brushed away the tears with an absent swipe of her hand. Vegeta grabbed the mouth- wash from her and growled, "It couldn't make me any more ill than I already feel!" He yanked off the cap and tilted his head back to pour the contents straight into his mouth. Bulma left him to his cleaning duties and erupted into more giggles when she heard him mutter, "It wasn't that funny, Woman!"

He slammed the door behind her and she stifled another round of snickers as she heard him gargle and choke on the excessive amount of liquid he was using.

Bulma limped her way towards the kitchen. She had decided to put on a kettle for some tea and take some pain- killers for her throbbing leg.

She was just swallowing her medicine when the front door blew open with Yamcha storming in. "Where is he? Where is that little prick?" he raged.

Bulma calmly walked over and shut the door. "What do you want now, Yamcha?' she sighed. She knew exactly who and what he wanted and she knew why.

"I want that little meglo-maniac to come out and face me like a man!" screamed Yamcha. He was red faced. Bulma wonder if was from anger or another round with Marron's red lipstick.

Vegeta, hearing the challenge in the Earthling's voice, had sauntered out of the bathroom. He faced Yamcha, in his usual defensive pose; arms crossed in front of him, legs staunchly set apart. "You called for me, Weakling?" he sneered.

Bulma stepped between them to mediate. She was tired and hoped she could somehow prevent Vegeta from kicking Yamcha's ass. If she had the strength, she would have gladly throttled him herself, she wanted her bubble bath!

Her ex-boyfriend shot her a warning glance, "Stay out of this Bulma, this has nothing to do with you. This little asshole hit on Marron and when she refused his sexual advances, he became abusive. Now she is all upset and says the only thing that will make her feel better, is if I beat the Hell out of this little jerk!"

Bulma shook her head, "Don't believe everything you hear Yamcha. Vegeta is the one who spurned your 'girlfriend'. Can't you see what she's doing? Marron is the kind of girl who gets off on men fighting over her! Now stop trying to pick a fight you know you won't win!"

Vegeta chuckled, "Woman, I do not need you to fight my battles for me." He shot Yamcha a contemptuous look; "You can't honestly believe Weakling, that I would lower myself for any woman who would settle for someone as pathetic as you!"

Yamcha glowered at the Saiyan. He was indecisive as to what to do next. His temper had gotten the best of him and now here he was; face to face with Vegeta. He didn't want to actually fight him. Bulma was right; he was not strong enough to defeat him.

Bulma sensed Yamcha's hesitation and turned to face him. "Look Yamcha, you and Marron walked in on a very intimate moment between Vegeta and myself. I think Marron misread Vegeta's…err…excitement and well…her feelings might have gotten hurt," she explained.

"You said you guys weren't involved, Bulma," said Yamcha disbelievingly.

Bulma felt her cheeks color and she laughed so nervously, it sounded fake. "We're not involved as of yet…" she conceded quietly.

Yamcha gaped at the very embarrassed Bulma; over her shoulder he could see Vegeta smile mockingly. "You should go now," urged his blue haired friend.

Yamcha nodded, "I'm sorry if I upset you Bulma. But know this Vegeta," he said throwing a cutting look at the Saiyan, "Don't even think for one minute that we will stand by and watch you hurt her. Bulma is far too good for the likes of you, you're not worthy of her pity, her friendship or her love!"

Vegeta gave Yamcha a sarcastic grin, "I'm not afraid of your threats, Weakling."

Yamcha returned the smirk, "You may not fear me, but be assured that Goku will kill you if you break her heart. And you know as well as I do, little man, that he could smear your Saiyan ass all over this floor!"

And with that, Yamcha stomped his way out of the house. Bulma sighed in relief and went to fetch her tea. Vegeta followed close behind. He said nothing as she savored the hot liquid. She motioned for him to help himself but he shook his head.

"Woman, I need to know how to turn on the Gravity Simulator."

Bulma stared at him in amazement. After all that, the only thing on his mind was training?

"Just state you name, like you did before and request the level of gravity. The rest of the simulations are not working. I'll have them ready as soon as I get my lab organized," she told him as she tried to read his expressionless face. He nodded and marched off to train.

Bulma sighed as she trudged to her bedroom. This first day with Vegeta had been tumultuous, at best. She wondered to herself, how she would survive another?