Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Maybe it's the Ice Cream ❯ One-Shot

Hey gang, here's a cute little short for ya! During those three years. May be a little OOC, but I'll try to be true!

Disclaimer: Me no own DBZ! You no sue, okay?

~emphasis~ [thoughts]

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Maybe It's the Ice Cream…

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"Okay everyone! Here it comes!" Mrs. Briefs called from the big freezer. Everyone sat around the huge dining room table, whispering and wondering in excitement. Except Vegeta of course, who only scowled impatiently. How the onna convinced him to attend this party was beyond him.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Bulma sweetie!" chirped Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, lugging in a ~huge~ ice cream tub. They plopped it down onto the table, shaking the whole framework of the thing. With a huge grin, Mrs. Briefs peeled the top of it off with a loud "Ta-Daaaa!"

"Mmm, haven't had this stuff for a long time," Yamcha commented wryly, pushing his bowl forward to be filled.

"What is it? What is it?" Gohan asked eagerly, standing on his chair to peer into the monstrous tub. "Chocolate ice cream!" He squealed, clapping his hands excitedly. He ran his finger along the discarded lid and popped it into his mouth.

"It's not just ~any~ chocolate ice cream!" Smiled Mrs. Briefs. "It's an old recipe from Bulma's granny," She boasted. "Real chocolate with nuts and baby marshmallows mixed in, just the way my little Bulma always liked it."

Chi-Chi smacked Gokou's hand away from the tub to the chorus of everyone's laughter, except Vegeta of course, who only smirked and rolled his eyes. "Wait for your turn. There's enough for everyone."

"Yes don't worry about that. I still have four tubs this size in the big freezer," Mrs. Briefs assured, and everyone noticed the gleam of excitement that lit up three pairs of Saiya-jin eyes.

==

Bulma gave up on sleep after more than half an hour of tossing restlessly on her bed. She sighed in frustration. She tossed off the covers, stood up and paced her room for a few moments, hoping that it would help tire her enough for her to finally feel sleepy. As she paced, she reviewed the events of the day inside her head, ending with the party and Mom's delicious chocolate ice cream.

Mom was right when she said that the ice cream was just the way she always wanted it. She hadn't had any in years and surprised the boys when she managed to finish two and a half servings in five minutes. Even Vegeta looked shocked. She loved ice cream, plain and simple especially the sensation of the sweet, icy, chocolatey spoonful slipping down her throat. She remembered the time she sneaked down into the kitchen late at night to get an extra bowl of ice cream that Mom didn't allow her during dinner.

She suddenly stopped pacing and grinned even wider. That was an idea! She picked up her robe from her chair and pulled it over her silky nightgown. Here was one other thing she hadn't done it years -- but since she couldn't sleep, she might as well give it a shot.

She leaned against the wall, staying in the shadows. Once she turned the corner, she would be in the corridor leading into the kitchen. She chuckled to herself. This was much easier than she thought it would be. Not that anything would stop from her ice cream.

Bulma peeked around the corner and smiled in satisfaction. No one was there. She was off, scot-free! Clutching her robe more tightly around her, she made a dash for the kitchen…

And slammed into someone running into the corridor from another room in the house.

The collision threw her off-balance and she could feel herself falling. She let go off her wrap to use her arms in an attempt to regain her balance. No good. Luckily, the "wall" she had crashed into had a better balance than she did and placed his arms around her to keep her from falling. She dropped her head, feeling her face start to burn. Great... all she had wanted was some ice cream, and now here she was in some sort of half-embrace with...

"Onna?"

"Vegeta!?" She looked up and found herself staring at a pair of very puzzled black eyes. She blushed even more, and he suddenly realized the direction of her thoughts. Vegeta dropped his hands and stepped away, assuming a proud pose. He was wearing his black pajama pants and bedroom slippers -- and he was blushing! "Um..." he began, looking rather baffled, his pose slipping as his eyes traveled her body. "I was..." he paused, taking in her nightgown and robe. "Uh..."

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other at the same time. Both of them glanced guiltily at the dining room doors, so close yet so far away, then back at each other, eyes wide. "You too?"

They stared at one another for a long tense moment then Bulma burst into quiet laughter. Vegeta broke into a small grin then recovered himself. He cleared his throat and tried to look serious but failed completely.

"I never knew chocolate ice cream could actually reduce you, into a midnight kitchen thief," he commented solemnly, black eyes dancing mischievously.

Bulma grinned back at him, feeling inanely happy at catching him doing something so out of character. "You've got no room to talk! The Prince of all Saiya-jins, no less. How weak." She cautiously looked down the corridor, making sure no one was watching. She tossed him a challenging glance. "First one into the kitchen gets first dibs on the ice cream!" Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off in the direction of the dining room doors in a rush of white gown and blue hair.

Vegeta smirked and walked calmly to his personal shortcut. No human woman would beat the Saiya-jin prince to his quarry.

==

Bulma grabbed a dinner candle from one of the shelves, lit it, and placed it on one of the metal counters facing the freezer. It bathed their corner of the kitchen in a friendly yellow light.

"Here it is, the tub we had at dinner," Vegeta declared triumphantly, his voice muffled inside the freezer. He closed the freezer and held up a tub of ice cream like a championship trophy and sat Indian-style on top of the metal counter.

Bulma offered him a huge spoon, which he took. She peered into the tub and looked back at him, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Perfect. There's just enough here for the both of us," she told him with a grin.

"Then let's hurry before anyone else shows up." Vegeta shifted so that he would face her and the ice cream, spoon clutched in his hand in anticipation.

"Ready? Dig in!" she quipped as she dipped her spoon towards the tub, only to find it swiped out from under her eyes. She glared at Vegeta, who held it aloft, a malicious smile on his lips.

"Don't forget onna. I beat you here so first 'dibs' honors go to me." He dug into the tub rather fiercely and stuck the spoon into his mouth.

"Mm-mm-MM!" he moaned almost mockingly. Bulma began to glare when he didn't put the tub back on the counter.

"Alright, you got your lousy first dibs, now put it down," Bulma ordered, pointing to the counter.

"Feh, since when do you give ME orders?" he smirked,

"You put that down right now Vegeta," she hissed, "Or I'll start screaming and get everyone in here to see you filching ice cream." She glared proudly and crossed her arms over her chest. A scared look passed through Vegeta's eyes. In honor of her birthday, Bulma had asked her guests to stay the night. One scream from her would bring them all down to her aid. Vegeta suddenly felt very protective of his pride. He couldn't face Kakkarot again if he saw him, the Prince of all Saiya-jins stealing Bulma's birthday ice cream. With a defeated scowl, he plopped the tub down again, causing the counter to rattle. Bulma smiled. "I knew you'd see reason. But since I'm so nice, I'll share."

"You're too kind," Vegeta mumbled, praying to Kami that Kakkarot wouldn't find out he'd also been bested by a woman. By Bulma no less.

"Oh come on, don't pout. The ice cream is at our mercy!" She grinned as she dipped in for her first spoonful of the night. "Mmmmmm!" she said, eyes closed in pleasure as the first spoonful slid down her throat. She opened her eyes to find Vegeta looking at her with a very strange look on his face. "What?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this with you," he muttered, shaking his head and getting another spoonful of ice cream from the tub. "I mean, if someone had told me that I would be sharing ice cream with a woman tonight…" He trailed off, sticking the spoon into his mouth. He groaned appreciatively as the taste exploded on his tongue. "Then again, this is really powerful stuff. Maybe this could bribe those androids to leave us alone."

"Ha! After I'm done here, there won't be any left for them, let alone for you!"

"Come on! I'm a Saiya-jin! You eat ice cream so slowly compared to me that you won't even realize I've managed to steal most of it away from under your nose," he told her in his smug tone of voice, getting in another spoonful of ice cream for emphasis.

"Ha!" she said, taking another spoonful of her own. "I've been putting it away faster than you have - you just haven't been watching."

He tried to glare but only shook his head and made a violent stab into the tub with the spoon. "You think you could out-eat me, Prince of all Saiya-jins? Foolish onna!" He crowed, staking his claim.

"Will you keep it down?" Bulma hissed. "It's been too long since my last raid and I'm not getting caught this time."

"'This' time? Hmm, how often do you do this?"

"Not since I was a kid," she said, dipping into the tub. "When I was seven, Mom made this same ice cream for my birthday. But I was only allowed to have one measly little serving. So I decided I'd sneak down and get some more. Well, one serving led to another, then another, then...well you get it." Bulma rolled her eyes but continued. "I couldn't get out of bed the morning after; my stomach was spiking with pain. I was screaming and Mom was certain I was possessed… until I started complaining about her ice cream being tainted. When she heard that, she let me have it. Needless to say, Mom made sure I couldn't sit flat for weeks."

Vegeta had been fighting a grin ever since she began her tale. No longer able to contain himself, he began to laugh in loud peals.

"Vegeta, it isn't that funny," she hissed. He kept on going. "You're going to get us caught, vegetable brain..." She smacked him on the head with her spoon.

"Don't call me that onna," he glared. The two of them glared at each other for a moment, then Vegeta roared with laughter, and she finally broke down and laughed at the memory with him. Their laughter bounced of the walls of the kitchen, and the candle flickered playfully, as if it was laughing with them. As soon as she saw his guard down, she snatched the tub away. "Alright, spill! When was the last time the great Prince Vegeta moonlighted in kitchen capers?"

"Are you kidding woman?" He scoffed. "I've put away more food on late nights than you eat in a week! I do it all the time!"

"Then why were you so embarrassed, hm? I saw you blushing out there!"

"The Saiya-jin no Ouji does NOT blush!" he snapped folding his arms over his chest, well aware of the heat now flooding his face.

"My, my, how becoming crimson is on you Vegeta," Bulma teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "If you're such a seasoned cat-burglar, why were you all bluuuushy?"

Vegeta growled, but there was no real way of getting out of this one, aside from lying. And he was so flustered that anything he made up would be completely transparent to her. "Cause I got caught, that's why. And primarily, I got caught by you!"

"Well, would you have rather gotten caught by Gokou?" She asked, her eyes glinting with scheming. Vegeta caught the look and glared at her.

"Don't you dare tell Kakkarot about this. I warn you, I'll-"

"You'll what?" She asked her lips pouting innocently. Vegeta tried to keep the serious look on his face but the sight of her looking so cute broke him up completely. [CUTE? Where'd that come from?] But his mind had no time to ponder this as his scowl melted into a smile, not a smirk, a true happy smile. Bulma couldn't help but laugh quietly. There was something secure Bulma felt in the sheer joy of sharing chocolate ice cream with him in the candlelit kitchen, at seeing this lighter side of him that he didn't allow anyone into very often. She knew he'd given her something special.

Their laughter trailed off into a long silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Bulma's brow furrowed. Something was eating away at her heart, but she wasn't sure she should bring it up now. The silence began to stifle her. But Vegeta was only too happy to break that silence.

"Why are you sulking onna?" he asked, trying to sound as impatient as he could.

"Don't call me that," she glared, but didn't look at him. He knew then that something was wrong. Whenever they had a spat, she always made eye contact with him. For him, the fuel of the argument was usually the glittering fire in her blue eyes and the way she held her long neck straight and tense. But now, she looked so… helpless and low.

"You didn't answer me," he reminded her. Then not quite knowing why, he dipped his head a little to try to see her eyes.

As if reading his mind, Bulma lifted her head and stared at him, a strange abandon in her eyes making them glimmer in the candlelight. "I was just thinking… about Yamcha," she admitted.

Something boiled up in Vegeta's head. Just the mention of that pathetic, scar-faced weakling mate of hers made a shock of rage rush through him. One reason was because he'd known for a long time about his cheating ways. The fool reeked of too many women every time he came into a room. He'd always meant to tell her about it, but nearly every time they had a conversation, it turned into a fight. "What about him?"

"He's so distant," she muttered, dipping into the soft ice cream. "We haven't gone out on a good date in over a month. He didn't even want to stay over tonight. Kept looking at his watch, touching his pager…"

[If you only knew,] he thought, but something inside told him not to just blurt out that her mate was…

"I know he's cheating on me," she sighed, then waited, hoping he'd say something. When the silence became too much, she frowned and stared into his black eyes. "You're… you're supposed to scoff at me and say, 'Don't be foolish onna, of course he's not.'"

Vegeta would've smirked at her exaggerated impression of him, but the unbelievable sadness in her blue eyes prevented even a small one. He swallowed hard, wondering why his throat was constricting at all. "I can't tell you that."

She stared at him, searching his eyes and found only solemnity… and truth. A shuddering breath exited her mouth and she set her spoon down, resting her hands on the counter. He stared at her and a tiny part of him wished it could sneer at her and call her foolish. But Vegeta knew he couldn't do that to her now. Over the past months they'd forged a fragile friendship, but he was almost at a loss of what to do; he'd never comforted another before. He set his own spoon down and pushed the tub of ice cream to the side. Feeling rather awkward, he reached out his hand to rest it on her shoulder.

She lifted her eyes to his uncertain, yet sternly comforting stare. A great sob left her lungs and she leaned into his chest, shivering. Every muscle in Vegeta's body tensed, his mind racing. He hadn't expected this at all, that she would accept comfort from him of all people. A moment passed before he put his arms around her and held her loosely.

"Dump the baka," he whispered, no venom in that statement, just sincerity. "You deserve better."

For a while she sat there in his arms, relishing that simple, yet deeply meaningful statement. Then she became keenly aware of the near perfection of his form against her cheek. Sure she'd always thought he was gorgeous, but now she couldn't get over how…tender he was being. It was so unlike him, but she loved it. After a while she pulled away and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He shrugged and looked away, trying to avoid her eyes. "Er, forget it."

Bulma grinned and discreetly shook her head. No way she could do that. Ever. She gave a glance to the ice cream tub. "Uhh, it's almost all gone." Her voice shook Vegeta out of his inward trance and he nodded, taking up his spoon almost like a weapon and flashed a smirk in her direction. She smiled back and sank her spoon into the tub again, glad the serious moment had passed.

For a few minutes, the two just sat, silently devouring the ice cream, examining their own thoughts once more. Vegeta looked up from the tub at her face. A few locks had fallen forward to partially veil it, but he could still see her. As if feeling his gaze, she peeked at him from beneath her lashes and smiled prettily. Vegeta flushed and went back to eating the ice cream. This woman confused him. She could be so many things at once; a child, definitely a woman, a fighter(verbally that is), and much as it baffled him, a friend. She was the only one among the Chikyu-jins that he could give that title to. Kakkarot tried, but there was just too much rivalry between them to form anything but a shaky alliance. He suspected that the only reason that the Z Senshi let him live was to strengthen their drastically weak force. No doubt that a few of them probably wanted to put a ki blast through him. But Bulma, she was different. She saw something in him that he himself didn't even acknowledge: his heart. Over time, The Saiya-jin had come to realize that someone cared for his well being. And lately, when he was around her, he'd been feeling oddly self-conscious. He'd begun finding different excuses to be around her, not interrupting his training mind you. These new emotions, he wasn't afraid to admit, scared him out of his mind.

[Out of your mind. That's what you are Prince. You're falling. And the question is, will she catch you? Fall with you?]

Bulma stayed her hand a moment and gazed at the Saiya-jin Prince. He confused her so much. One moment he would bicker with her, the next he would defend her, then he would anxiously try to avoid her eyes. And now, tonight, he had comforted her. She'd never have expected that from him. Though the two of them had something reminiscent of a friendship, he still acted so high above her. He never ceased to call her into a room to order her about or ask her a question. He was so regally proud, yet somehow so shy and aloof. She bit her lip thoughtfully, suddenly realizing that she still knew so little about his life, so little about this brave, proud, confusing man who gave so much but never asked for so much as a reward.

And she wanted to know so much more…

"So, what's bothering you so much that you've suddenly abandoned the ice cream to my disposal?" the prince asked suddenly bursting into her thoughts.

"Do you... do you miss it much?" she asked hesitantly, occupying herself with getting another spoonful of ice cream.

"Miss what?" he asked a smirk on his face. She knew that he knew what she meant, but that he wasn't that enthusiastic about answering her. For some reason, tonight his answer was important enough to her that she continued.

"Your home," she said, pinning him again with her earnest blue gaze. "Vejita-sei."

"Vejita-sei…" he sighed, trying to sound flippant. "Of course I do. The regality of landscape, the peace of the quiet cities, our strong, warrior race… yeah, I miss it. But..." He paused and took another spoonful of ice cream, obviously reluctant to continue.

"But..." she prodded gently, inwardly holding her breath.

He sighed and continued, placing the spoon on the counter and leaning back on his arms. He turned his face in full view of hers, and his face was lit with a rueful smirk. "But…it's been a long time since what happened." At the curious tilt of her head, he gave a great sigh. So, she didn't yet know exactly what happened. " I... I lost my family, my planet, everything when I was young."

Bulma's breath caught in her throat. "I…I'm…I didn't realize…"

He shrugged and gave her a dry grin. "It's not something I go around telling everybody about."

"You don't have to go on if…" she said softly, sorry that she had managed to open a topic painful to him.

He silenced her by taking her spoon and gently filling her mouth with soft, sweet ice cream.

"Never can keep that mouth closed," he smiled, almost gently. "I wouldn't keep talking if I didn't want to tell you." Her eyes widened at the statement and a pleasing warmth seemed to flood her as she bit back a smile. She listened in silence as he hesitantly began the painful tale of Frieza's cruelty and all the losses he'd suffered. All the while, he searched her eyes, watching her grow sad in the wake of the horrors and tragedy he'd been through.

"Don't pity me onna," he said with a frown.

"I don't," she defended, though not angrily. "I just…feel for your loss. All that pain, and you survived it all."

He shrugged, his gaze far away. "As I said, I didn't really have any choice but to follow orders, or…or lose my father…my planet. But…it happened anyway," he growled this last phrase and clenched his fists on his knees. He wouldn't cry though. He wouldn't appear weak, not in front of her. Her eyes saddened at the sight of her brave prince holding his tears back like a proud little boy.

Vegeta noted her stricken expression and suddenly reached out to comfort her again by laying one of his hands on hers - a gesture she found all the more endearing and surprising when she should have been the one comforting him. "It's fine onna."

"No it's not," Bulma insisted, staring into the black pools of his eyes. They were strained, but dry. "You shouldn't keep yourself bottled up Vegeta. It'll hurt you more."

Vegeta felt his face warm and he swallowed hard. "So… you asked if I missed it?"

Bulma stared at the counter, feeling a little ashamed. She bit her lip thoughtfully and gazed at her own hands on her lap. [Stupid Bulma! Of course he misses it! You didn't need to make him tell you that! Now you've hurt him! He's been hurt enough!] "I know you do Vegeta. You don't need to go on. I'm sorry I had those horrible memories resurface. Of course you would. Since then, you've never had a place to call home."

He paused, a voice in his mind telling him to drop it. But the apparent caring in her voice overpowered it. "Not quite," he answered, causing her to look up at him. Their gazes locked. "Now… now, it's here," he finally answered, breaking the silence. "Chikyu-sei is… home." He smirked, trying to lighten the mood again. "At least it is until I have to leave."

At that she shook her head violently. "No," she said, feeling tears fill her eyes because she was so touched at what he had just said. "This will always be home for you, as long as you want it to be." She smiled, taking her hand from his and gently touched his shoulder. "That will be true no matter where you go and how long you are away." She smiled shyly, and squeezed his shoulder amiably.

He bit his lower lip, trying to think of what to say next, wishing he could look away from her gorgeous eyes. But the warm, flickering light on her beautiful face chased every thought away. Finally, he took her hand from his shoulder and held it gently in his. "I... thank you."

She looked puzzled. "For this house? It's the least we can do. After all you've done so much, I..."

He placed a finger on her lips to silence her, shaking his head. "No, not for that onna." He gazed into her endless blue eyes and lightly stroked her cheek.

Bulma found that she couldn't look away from his full, wild eyes and her face blazed. The warmth in them transfixed her as the candlelight bathed him with its soft glow. His face was so close that she could feel his warm breath fanning her face, smelling faintly of sweet chocolate. Her heart thundered loudly in her ears, and she could feel heat flooding her face. She closed her eyes and felt herself moving closer to him, felt him moving closer to her as he whispered "For you..."

Light suddenly flooded the kitchen, and they sprang apart abruptly; Bulma clutching her robe closed at her chest; Vegeta, off-balance, almost falling on the floor. Their gazes shot in the direction of the light switch by the door.

"Dad, Krillin, looks like the coast is clear," Gohan whispered loudly, beckoning to unseen people outside. He turned around and started when he saw Vegeta and Bulma sitting on the kitchen counter staring at him in dazed bemusement. "Uh... guys... err, umm..."

Krillin and Gokou burst into the kitchen, Krillin at a run, Gokou wringing his hands greedily.

"Lead me to that ice cream..." Gokou said, cackling evilly, stopping in mid-stride when he saw them. "I... uh... hi, Bulma. Hi, Vegeta." Gokou glanced speculatively at the two who were both trying their best to avoid each other's eyes. "What are- did we-"

"They finished the ice cream!" Gohan wailed, cutting his father off and snatching the now-empty tub from the counter-top. He looked like he could cry.

"Don't worry, Gohan, there's another tub in here!" Krillin said in a muffled voice, head stuck inside the freezer. He lifted one out and placed it on the counter opposite Vegeta and Bulma, peeling off the lid with a greedy grin and obviously oblivious to anything else. Gohan was beside him in a flash, running his finger on the lid and licking off the ice cream on it.

Gokou shook his head as he handed Krillin and Gohan spoons, then picked up a bowl from a shelf, frowning at it thoughtfully. "Uh-uh," he finally said, putting it back down and heading towards the freshly opened tub that Gohan and Krillin had already begun attacking.

Gokou glanced at Bulma and Vegeta who were discreetly glancing at each other. He grinned. "Did we interrupt anything guys?"

"What do you think Kakkarot?" Vegeta grumbled, assuming his usual scowl before sharing one last conspiratorial smirk with Bulma.

Gokou rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Some mysteries are simpler to understand than you are Vegeta." He took a huge spoonful of ice cream and shut his eyes with a pleased sigh. "Then again... maybe it's the ice cream."

==

"Should we wake her up?" someone whispered from somewhere below her.

"Nah, she looks really tired," someone else answered. "Vegeta, maybe you could carry her..."

"Fine," someone else whispered from above her, sweet warm breath smelling faintly of chocolate fanning her forehead.

Suddenly, the wall she was leaning on shifted, and she felt herself being lifted up. A deep rumble vibrated beneath her cheek and she instinctively snuggled against the wall of warmth under her cheek. After a while, she felt herself being lowered on a bed of clouds... and fell into an even deeper sleep. She smiled softly in her sleep, dreaming that her strong prince charming, with his burning black eyes and dark unruly hair like a black flame, was returning to her if only to kiss her good night.

Vegeta gently laid her down on the bed and pulled up and tucked the covers around her. For a long time he stood by her, just watching her. He remembered the way her face looked in the flickering candlelight as the moon cast it's silver-blue light across the expanse of white sheets. He could barely restrain a contented smile when he felt her softness against his shoulder as she finally fell asleep against him amidst the laughter and joking, while the rest of the gang had their share of ice cream.

She suddenly murmured in her sleep, shifting restlessly.

He stared down at her for a moment, then for the second time he smiled a true smile. He leaned down beside her bed, still gazing at her peaceful, beautiful face.

"Bulma, home is where you are," he whispered just beside her ear, knowing she wouldn't hear him. After a moment he stood up and slipped quietly out the door casting a longing glance back at the graceful figure on the bed. A moment passed and Bulma shifted again, a beautiful smile gracing her sleeping face.

"Vegeta…" she whispered inside the perfection of the dream.

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Well, whatcha think? Cute yes? Sorry if V-Chan was OOC. PLEASE REVIEW! MUST HAVE REVIEWS!