Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ More Than Meets The Eye ❯ Sam (finished) ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ. Sam is mine, though (I forgot to say in the last chapter, but don't steal her from me! L)

Sam

A peaceful forest surrounding a lake. The sun just poking its nose over the horizon dying everything in orange tones. The birds starting with their morning song, waking the still slumbering animals to a new day. The scene a study in calm and serenity.

Suddenly a shout shatters the heavenly calm sending all animals scattering for refuge.

"Fuuuuuck! God damn it, Vegeta! I can't believe how much of an ass you can be! After last night's success you'd think you would be in a good mood, satisfied at the very least, but nooooo, Mr-stick-up-the-ass won't even relax a little. I thought that seeing how well things are going that maybe this morning we'd skip the usual training and talk about last night, about what we're gonna do next... I don't know, enjoy it!" She would never understand this man: things start to go their way and he gets even more cranky than usual, making her practice some boring meditation exercises that she already knew. This morning wasn't for meditation. Things were great and she'd woken the happiest in a long while and with so much energy she could barely keep still, much less meditate.

"Enjoy? Enjoy what, Onna? What's there to enjoy? 'Last night's sucess' she says... For fuck's sake, Onna, last night was a frigging disaster! You want to talk about last night? Let's talk about last night. Where do we start? Maybe we could talk about the way you kept forgetting the plan, or the nervous wreck you were all night, or the longing looks you kept giving the weakling through all the dinner, or how you kept what you thought was a big problem to yourself or... oh, let's not forget: how you fucking broke down in the middle of the restaurant!!" His voice had started calm and mocking but had been getting louder and louder till he ended practically shouting to her face, that much was the frustration and irritation the whole situation caused him, specially since she seemed blissfully unaware of this and too fucking happy! Didn't she see? Didn't she care? This was her plan after all, how could she be so happy and want to celebrate after last night?!

With those questions going through his head he tried to calm down somewhat. It wouldn't do to reprimand her for loosing control of her emotions just to do so himself. And so, with a calmer if not less angry voice he went on, "Your baka boyfriend may have bought it - because he's too stupid to realize something's off - and the girl was too overwhelmed meeting you to see anything else, but last night was a failure, anyone with a couple of brain cells would have seen right through our little act!"

"Shit Vegeta, you gotta be kidding! Last night was not a failure! Yamcha believed it, Sam believed it and we're gonna be seeing them again soon. We accomplished our goals, that's a success in my book! So I lost control for a little while? No biggie! I got everything under control again before anyone noticed, didn't I? And besides, what'd you expect? This is my life that it's at stake here. You go and keep your cool through everything like the cold, insensitive bastard you are, but some of us have blood in our veins and feel."

"Look bitch, you may delude yourself as much as you want but the truth is you wouldn't have been able to pull yourself together on your own, no fucking way! If I hadn't been there to save your useless ass you would have ended exploding and crawling to the weakling begging him to take you back! I may be a cold, insensitive bastard to you, but just so that you know, if anything went well last night was thanks to me and that I was cold and insensitive. Look what good your pathetic feelings did to you!"

She was furious! How dare he say all those things to her? She was not pathetic nor was she useless, she'd done her best last night! "You think you can go off on me like that, saying it's all my fault, that I did nothing right... and you? You saved the night, right? You had to go and get little useless Bulma out of trouble, you were flawless, Mr. Perfect, and I'm the one to blame! Yeah right! And that's why you're taking it out on me, making me do some boring exercises that are not even at my level. We did this shit and went on a while ago, remember? Maybe I should go and ask someone else to train me... maybe Son-kun, at least he would pay attention and make me do the right exercises!" Just as she finished her little tirade she realized she had lost track of the topic at hand. She'd gone from furious at his words to irritated at the seemingly pointless exercises he'd been making her do, first implying that it was his way of punishing her for what he thought she had done wrong to end up saying that he simply was a careless trainer which, she knew, was totally false and uncalled for. Now, seeing the look that settled on Vegeta's face she feared she'd gone too far.

When he spoke again his face was as blank as ever, not even his eyes gave way to what he might be thinking, he might as well have been made of stone, and his tone was deadly calm, hardly above a whisper. "You may disagree with me about last night's performance, you might have argued about that, exposed your reasons and I would have exposed mine, this is, after all, your plan and your boyfriend, but when it comes to the training 'I' am your sensei. You might not respect my title of Prince, might not respect my heritage and my culture and I'll let it pass because I don't respect yours either, less everyday I spend here, but I thought that even your self-centered brain could realize that as your sensei you must show some respect to me. And even if you don't, the fact that I've been helping YOU in your training implies I deserve more respect than what you have shown, even by your ningen standards.

I take training very seriously, be it mine or someone else's, and I won't tolerate you even suggesting something else. You think Kakarot will do better? Then by all means go and ask him because nobody is going to train you here.

Out of my GR."

~*~

That had been Sunday morning. Right then Bulma had been so shocked - both at what she'd said and how he'd reacted - that she had just done as he asked and silently left.

After that he'd locked himself in the GR and hadn't gone out in all day. Even though she was still angry about what he had said about the night before and couldn't disagree more, she knew that the rest hadn't been called for and couldn't be any further from the truth. As a matter of fact, she thought exactly the opposite and thus she wanted… no, needed to apologize. She had no hope that he would forgive her and even less that he would even consider training her again, but she had to tell him what she really thought. It was the least he deserved.

With this in mind she'd waited up for him to come out. She hadn't made him a special dinner or anything, this time. It was not the time to sweet talk him or to 'appease' him with food, she wanted him to realize that she really meant it. When it was past two in the morning and he still hadn't come out, however, she had to finally admit defeat and go to bed.

It had been like this for the last few days: he'd come out to eat - she knew since the food kept disappearing from the fridge - and to clean up and sleep a little - she figured - but always when she was either at work or sleeping.

And so, she hadn't seen nor hair nor hide from him ever since, hadn't been able to talk to him or to apologize… NOTHING, and she was going to do so face to face! She was growing more irritated as the days passed with that attitude of him, it was kind of childish, something like 'we're not friends any more and I'm not gonna talk to you!' and besides, it wasn't that big a deal, right? Sure, she'd fucked up and said some nasty, untruthful things… but this was enough! Since when were his feelings this easily hurt? The guy had no feelings at all, for crying out loud!

Anyway, that was on Sunday and today was Wednesday and Sam was going to be there anytime so she better forget all that for the day and put a happy face for the girl.

~*~

Bulma had shown Sam all around the compound and the facilities. Sam was fascinated, such a big place, all dedicated to any type of scientific research… it was amazing, like one enormous lab with top technology. And still they had the tour through the main building. Bulma had left that one for the last, saying that the best better for the last. Sam couldn't even begin to imagine how something could be better than what she'd already seen! Anyway, that was left for the afternoon and right now they were heading for the kitchen to grab some lunch.

"Bulma, this is wonderful! It's the dream workplace of any scientist! Is there any field CC doesn't touch?"

"Mmmmm… well, I don't know. We work on anything promising. Anything that might be worth our time… it doesn't really matter if there is a commercial product as the result of all our investigations, sometimes they turn out to be useless and sometimes they lead to something else entirely, but that doesn't matter, the company can afford that. Any scientist in our employment can present a report on any project they would like to take, if the report is well documented and we think that it might be interesting to work on then we give the okay and give them a lab and some staff currently free, depending on the project, and leave them to their devices. They must bring in a report every month on how the project is going and the advances they're making. This way we can control that our scientists don't get stuck in something useless and we can offer some advice of our own and some indications, along with providing more resources if we believe the project has gotten too big for what we originally gave. This way we encourage individual thinking and creativity and our personal is more content with the job knowing that they can work on their own projects and that we'll support them if they're good. By the way Sam, you have some very interesting ideas of your own, you know that?"

"Me? Interesting ideas?" To say that Sam was surprised at the turn of conversation wouldn't be enough. Though she was rather proud of the compliment too, it was Bulma Briefs who'd given it, after all!.

"Yes, you! Don't look at me like that! I've been paying attention to the comments you made of some of the projects we have seen through the morning and while some of your comments are rather far fetched, others were very ingenious and we might be interested in trying them out. Tell me Sam, do you have a job, at the moment?"

Sam was sure her eyes would soon fall out of their sockets the way they must have been bulging. She looked at Bulma again and sure enough the woman seemed to be dead serious about it. Was Sam understanding this for what it was? Was really Bulma Briefs offering her a job at CC? Just because of some half-minded comments she'd made?? Or was she just going to make a fool of herself when she opened her big mouth? ~ Hell! Who cares if I look like a fucking dumb-ass? This might be the opportunity of my life and CC surely seems the ideal place to work in. ~

"Actually, yes, I've got a job at the moment" Sam replied at length. At seeing the disappointed look on Bulma's face she went on, elated at being able to inspire such response from the other. "But to tell you the truth it ain't the best job in the world. As a matter of fact, I've been going form job to job for the last few years, never staying more than a few months because I haven't found a place I really like, yet, so I'd love to come work here. If that's what you proposing, of course!" She quickly added.

Bulma didn't answer outright. She seemed to be considering her next words carefully and Sam wondered if maybe she'd said something inappropriate. "Yes. Yes, that's exactly what I was proposing, but I don't know if that's such a good idea anymore. I mean, I still think you have a lot of potential and you'd be a good acquisition for CC, but I'm not very sure if I'd like to employ someone who is bound to leave me in a couple of months."

Sam finally realized what had set Bulma off and she had to mentally slap herself for her bad phrasing. "Err… well Bulma, to be completely honest I was hoping that this job could be the one. Let me explain why I last so little in every job. The thing is I'm a very curious person. When I finished my studies I received a few offers from different companies to go work with them. Many of the jobs seemed very interesting and finally I picked up the one that picked my interest the most, regardless of the money they paid since that wasn't a problem. The first few months it was wonderful, I had never done anything related to what we were working on and I learned a lot, but then things began to become mechanical. Like a routine that repeated itself day in and day out, so I decided to try some of the other jobs I had declined. But every time would be the same. At first all would be wonderful, learning a lot and working on something new, but after a while of working on the same thing I'd get bored and change jobs. That's why I think CC might be the solution. Here I can try anything I like. I won't be stuck with the same shit all the time. I can work on something and when that is done start with something else." She said, hoping that it would be enough to make Bulma want to employ her again.

Bulma look pensive at this. "Look Sam, I understand what you are saying. Really, I do because it happens to me all the time. I can't stay put for long. The ideas fill my head and once I've put one of them to paper and I'm beginning to develop it, some other will come to mind and it won't leave alone until I give up and start on this one instead, thus leaving my prior project to someone else to finish. But well, I guess that I'm lucky that I'm the owner and I can do this, but I won't allow any of my employers to start something and leave it half done, you know. Yeah, I know, you're probably thinking how hypocrite of me to do so, but that's how things are, and I've learned that sometimes it's better this way because many of my ideas end up doing wonderfully for CC's economy so it's a good thing I don't let any idea go unchecked. And I'm not being arrogant or anything, simply stating facts."

Sam burst out laughing at this. Bulma looked at her quizzically until she calmed down and explained. "Oh god! You're treating me on the same level you are, and you're afraid I'll think you're being arrogant! Bulma, you're a genius! Of course ideas fill your head and come and go so quickly you don't have time for all of them, but I'm no genius. Oh, I'm no dummy, that for sure, and I was one of the best of my promotion, but I'm no genius. My only problem is that I don't like to stay too long on something I already know, but I won't leave anything unfinished, I'm pretty throughout. While there's something left to do from a new project I'll do it. The problem comes when I'm doing the same thing over and over again."

Bulma then look thoughtfully at me. "Ok, look, I'll think about this, why don't you send me your CV and I'll look through it and then decide. Remind me later to give you my e-mail. I don't like the phone that much, so I usually don't give my number and instead prefer the e-mail. I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's fine, I'll send it over as soon as I get home."

After that they concentrated on their lunch, making idle conversation every now and then, but nothing more than the sporadic comment. When they finished it was still early and Bulma told her to go and have a walk through CC gardens since the main building would still be mostly empty, everybody on their lunch break. So they started up a little path surrounded by exotic plants wonderfully taken care of. Sam had never been a flower person or anything, as a matter of fact, she didn't have a single plant in her apartment since everything she bought ended up dying in a few weeks, much to her mother's consternation - the woman loved plants and had a small garden in her balcony. Of course, even if she were capable of taking care of some plants, her mother would still bug her for so may other things like finally settling down, with a man, to form a family, to at least try an have more of a social life, to visit more… oh, the list was pretty long, her mom had once stuck it on Sam's fridge so that she'd have a constant reminder - sometimes the woman creeped even Sam out - but that was a whole different matter. Still she could appreciate beautiful plants.

Bulma noticed Sam staring at her mother's plants. "You like them? Like flowers too? They're my mom's. She takes care of all of them personally. Once my dad suggested hiring a gardener to help her and my mom nearly blew a gasket over it. You should have seen my dad's face then, it's so rare for mom to be anything but her cheerful self…"

"Oh, they're very beautiful, indeed. I don't know much about flower care taking, but I think your mom does a great job. As a matter of fact, I'm not even good with bouquets or the sort when I'm given one. Imagine that when Yamcha and I started going out he brought me a really nice bouquet - it must have cost him a lot - but I forgot to put it in water and by the time I came back home all the flowers were ruined." Sam explained in a sheepish tone. "I was very sorry, the flowers were very beautiful, but I think he was more sorry than I was. He didn't say anything at the moment, I think he didn't want to because we were just beginning, but I'm sure that he was not happy with all the money he'd wasted that afternoon."

Bulma couldn't help but laugh at this knowing damn well how hard it was for Yamcha to let go a single yen. Still, it was amazing he'd gone and bought her flowers. He must have wanted it to work out with Sam real bad. Bulma was curious. "Oh, poor Yamcha. Still, it's very nice of him to buy you flowers, in all the time I've known him I could count the times I've seen him go and buy his girl something like this, a nice little thing just because." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

"Really? Well, I wouldn't know, but I think that the problem was that he didn't have a fucking clue as to what to do with me. I mean, you just had to see him the first time I met him. I friend of mine from the college a couple of years behind me had invited me to one of their parties. I had gone to enough in my time to know how it was and still knew some people from there so I went. And wouldn't you know who was there…"

"Yamcha was at a college party?!!!" Bulma wouldn't have been more surprised if Sam had said he'd been at a kid's birthday party as a clown.

"Yep! Hahahaha, you should have seen him trying to flirt with the girls there… Oh god, if it hadn't been so pathetic it would have been hilarious. The pick-up lines he was using and the moves… gods, it was like he was at some disco or something picking up bimbos. After a while of this I couldn't help but go over there and tell him to stop it. I told him that he was making a fool out of himself, that those girls wouldn't fall for those lines and that he'd better go somewhere else where he actually fit in. At this he just seemed to deflate. He fell down onto the sofa with a groan and finally told me that he just didn't know what to do. Turned out that my first impression was right and he would have been way more at home at some disco using those horrible pick-up lines on some dumb barbie or something. But he explained that he was tired of those women, he got bored with them and had decided that he needed to try something else, a woman with more in the head than hair and so, when a teammate had told him of this party his girlfriend's college friends were planning he'd decided that he could give it a try… surely, if we were college students we could keep up a conversation.

In the end we spent the rest of the night talking on that sofa and before parting I gave him my phone number. He was horrible as a flirt, but he seemed a nice enough guy." Sam finished her story.

Bulma had been wavering between laughing at the pathetic image Yamcha presented and wondering how the hell had she fallen that hard for a guy like him. She guessed that Sam's last sentence was it: he wasn't all that much, but you could count on him, he was a good guy. Bulma was deep in thought going through all this and missed what Sam said next. "Excuse me?"

"I said that now that you know how I met him you could tell me how he managed to become friends with someone like you!" She said with a smirk, wondering that if it had been so difficult for Yamcha to even get a college girl, how the hell had he managed to befriend a fucking world wide known genius!

"Oh, well, you see, I met him when I was a lot younger and had been traveling around the world, seeking adventures and the perfect boyfriend… Yeah, yeah, don't look at me like that! I was young and naïve and hadn't even been given a single kiss, so yeah… Anyway, thing is I was traveling with a couple of friends - I guess you could call Oolong a friend - through the dessert when we came along this bandit and his pet. That was Yamcha. He was nothing like he is nowadays… first thing he did was try and steal a couple things from us… besides he was so shy! He couldn't even talk to a woman without blushing, can you believe that?…"

And like this, Bulma went on telling Sam some of the adventures they'd had looking for the dragonballs oh so many years ago before they had to go to the main building to finish Sam's visit. Or, at least, the edited version of said adventures.

~*~

"Hey Sam, what do you say to stay and have dinner with me? It'd be the perfect end for the day, don't you think? Something nice at home to forget a little about work and get to know each other." It was late evening by then and Sam had been hinting to having to leave for the last hour. Bulma had the feeling that the young woman didn't really want to go and Bulma herself really wanted to know more about the other woman. She was very intelligent and she'd make a valuable addition to CC but from the glimpses she'd caught of the woman beneath the scientist, she thought she'd make a great friend, too.

"Really?! I'd love that! … I mean… Won't Vegeta mind?" she asked, recalling a conversation they had during lunch. Yamcha had told Sam that he knew Vegeta because he was staying at CC for a while, and having lunch there with Bulma and not seeing him anywhere she'd finally asked. Bulma told her that yes, he used to live at CC and yes, they still lived together but they'd moved to a little house near the lake so that they could be on their own. Sam didn't want to intrude in their life considering the lengths they'd gone to have some privacy.

"Vegeta? Mmmm… Actually I had all but forgotten about him, so excited I was about everything." Bulma said with a sheepish face. "But don't worry, he'll probably still be training. Sometimes he does that and doesn't come in till real late. You saw him, he's not your typical man, doesn't see the need to have dinner together every day… he's more about 'quality' rather than 'quantity'… He really makes up for the missed dinners, though, and I don't really mind. I myself don't want to be that committed to another one after so little time." She said thoughtfully. All in all it was a honest answer. She had never really thought about it, but she found herself liking this recently discovered freedom and didn't want to loose it so shortly after.

"Oh, in that case I'd love to have dinner with you."

On their way to the house Sam had to admit to some disappointment at the news that Vegeta wouldn't be there and Bulma couldn't help but burst out laughing: it was the first time that she knew that someone was disappointed at not seeing the cranky prince, even if the other was just thinking about missing the 'views'. She finally relented and said that she'd let him know that Sam was staying and see if he could finish early and join them.

So when they arrived she went directly to the GR, Sam right at her heels, and pushed the button for the intercom - they'd installed it at his request so that she wouldn't have any excuse to cut out the power of the machine as she used to do to get his attention.

"Hey sexy," she said so that he understood that something was up and, maybe, he'd have mercy and not snap anything too nasty, "I've just got home. Sam is with me, I've invited her to dinner. You try and join us… please?" Her only response was his ragged breath as he went on with his routine. "Well, we'll go and start it." And she cut the connection. She'd used a tone of voice sometimes playful and always cheerful, but she'd done the whole thing for Sam's benefit because she knew without a doubt that he wasn't going to do it, much less after what had happened on Sunday.

~*~

The house wasn't exactly what Sam would have expected. For one, it was a little house made of wood in the middle of a forest, as far away from any trace of civilization as possible and without even a decent ground road to get there - you had to follow a barely visible path between the trees hardly wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side by side. Add to that the fact that one of the richest people in the world had no TV, no fax, no mobile phone and not even a conventional one in all the house - the only electronic devices they had were a stereo and a computer in Bulma's office - and you can imagine why Sam would be surprised. Besides, Bulma had entered the house and said "That's the kitchen, the dinning room and the living room." Pointing to said zone every time. "Out there there's a little porch. What do you think?" but she had not waited for her answer. Bulma wasn't interested in what other people had to say about her home, as she'd said to Yamcha the other day, there were times when the one you have to please is yourself and she was beginning to understand that. Instead, she had gone directly to the kitchen to start with dinner. She had not offered to show Sam upstairs.

Sam had to admit, though, that it suited the woman. Bulma didn't like the spotlight and was very reserved when it came to her personal life, that much was clear after just a few hours with her. She had to say that she liked the house, or the part of it that she'd seen. It was practical and elegant but not impersonal or cold.

After briefly assessing the room she went to Bulma and asked if there was anything she could do.

"Why don't you lay the table? Dinner will be ready in no time, I'm making some pasta and steak and salad to accompany it all. That's OK with you?" Bulma said over her shoulder, not stopping whatever she was doing.

"Yeah, sounds fine."

"Great, then. You've got everything in that sideboard next to the table. Tell me if you need anything."

"Well, now that you say it, where is the bathroom?"

"Oh, of course. Go upstairs, turn right. It's the first door at your right." She said without even turning from the oven.

"OK. Be right back." She said half way up the stairs, already.

When she got to the top she found herself in the middle of a hallway. It seemed the same right and left. She went right. It was true that she had to go to the bathroom, but she couldn't help but be curious about the house and its owner so when she finished she tried the other door in the bathroom that, she could only guess, lead to Bulma's bedroom. She opened and looked inside. It was too dark outside to see anything so she risked turning on the light. It was just a quick look and Bulma was downstairs; nobody would know.

She intended to make it quick and go back downstairs, just to see what her bedroom looked like, to satisfy her curiosity since Bulma herself wouldn't show her. It was a very simple room: a desk to one side, the bed and bedside table to the other. A door to the balcony and the wardrobe. Sam was debating whether it was worth the time and risk to go and take a peek at Bulma's wardrobe when suddenly:

"I don't think she would be happy if she knew you're here."

Sam's head whipped to the side so fast that she thought she'd nearly broken it. There he was, casually leaning against the door frame leading to the balcony, smug smirk in place, with black gi pants on tied up with a white sash, the T-shirt he intended to put on still in hi hand. He was fresh from the shower judging from the few remaining droplets that ran down the expanse of hi chest. He looked positively edible in Sam's humble opinion. But that wasn't the matter at hand.

"Err… Hi Vegeta! I was just taking a look, no harm done, I was just curious, really. It's just that she is so reserved with her things… I just wanted a quick glimpse." She said it all at once, without even breathing, she was so nervous. This was it, she'd screwed up this opportunity to work in something interesting and worthwhile, and with Bulma Briefs, no less. She was desperate and she was sure he could see it clearly in her face.

"I see… OK, I'll let it slide this time, the Onna doesn't need to know. And yes, she is very reserved about her personal life but let me tell you something: you are the first person besides the Onna and me that has been to this house so if she doesn't want you to see something you'd do well to respect her wishes in the future. Had it been my room I wouldn't have been so polite."

He was having a great time seeing her suffer, she just knew, and she felt like a fucking open book under his gaze. He was slightly unnerving when he wanted. And scary. That at the end had been a clear waning and she intended to take heed of it. That's when it dawned on her:

"This is not your bedroom?? But you and her… I thought… and you've just moved here, the two of you, alone…"

Now she was very confused, but he wasn't phased in the least. "No, this is not my bedroom, my rooms are at the other end of the hallway. We had been living together for a while at her parent's, that's why we decided to move out when our relationship… changed like this. We believe, however, that it is too early to share a bedroom."

"That makes sense" Sam mumbled while musing it over. After a while, "So you say I'm the first to see the house… you're not kidding me, right?" she asked, but one look at his face told her clearly he wasn't one to joke. "No, you're not… Wow, that's very nice of her, I feel honored… wow…" he didn't make a comment. As a matter of fact he didn't react to anything and after a while she began to feel increasingly uncomfortable being alone with him, they better went downstairs where Bulma would be there to ease the tension. "Very well, then. Are you coming?"

~*~

Bulma was preparing the steak, water already boiling in a pot waiting for her to throw in the pasta. She didn't know how long it'd been, but she was fairly sure that it shouldn't take this long for Sam to come back down. At last she heard footsteps going down the stairs.

"Hey, Sam, at last! Took you long enough! What where you doing up there? I was ready to send a search party to look for you!" She said teasingly, hearing the other woman snort as she went back to laying the table. "Had it been at the CC building I could have understood you getting lost, but here it's not like-" She cut herself off when suddenly a strong pair of arms wound themselves around her waist and a very hard, very warm body pressed itself against her back.

"Mmmm… smells good, Onna." Came the throaty purr next to her ear, warm breath softly caressing the skin of her neck. She shivered, caught totally off guard.

"V-Vegeta??" To say that she was surprised would have clearly been an understatement. "What are you doing?" She got out, barely above a whisper.

"I'm nuzzling your neck. Why? Don't you like it?" Came the muffled reply. She could hear the amusement in his voice and could practically feel his smirk against her neck.

She couldn't say that she didn't like it… as a matter of fact, she liked it very much, he was very good at this, but- "You know what I mean!"

"Hn. You came looking for me, didn't you? I thought you wanted me to come and have dinner with the two of you, so here I am. It would have been very rude of me not to appear when we have our first guest, don't you think?" He said, having a great time with all this. Her astonishment must have been very obvious, even without seeing her face, since he chuckled a little and finally released her. He moved to the counter where some vegetables were waiting to be washed and chopped. "You finish there, I'll take care of the salad."

She could only nod dumbly from where she stood, her eyes never leaving him as he rummaged for a knife, warily eyeing him as if he was an alien… OK, so he WAS an alien, but you get the idea.

"Oh, and Onna," she looked at him. He was smirking. "you better take that out of the fire 'cause it doesn't smell so good anymore."

~ Huh?… Oh shit! ~ Bulma thought as she hastily turned off the fire and inspected the darkened piece of meat. It was slightly burned, but nothing not edible. If careful to peel off the most darkened spots it would be good. It was a good think that she liked meat well-done.

After that everyone kept to themselves and their chores in a companionable silence only marred by the clinkering of cutlery and the rhythmic toc-toc-toc of Vegeta's chopping. Enjoying the peacefulness of the room Bulma decided to take advantage of Vegeta's collaboration while it lasted. She'd confront him later, for now she was going to have a nice dinner with friends.

~*~

An hour later found the three of them comfortably seated around the table and the last remains of dinner. The two women had spent the dinner chatting about this and that and had ended telling Vegeta about the day they'd spent together at CC and the many ideas and concepts they had been discussing. Through all this he had barely said a word or two, though neither woman had really noticed, so engrossed they were in the conversation. Finally, during a brief pause in their talk, Bulma realized that she'd better bring dessert, since Vegeta was sure to be hungry after the little dinner she had made for him so as not to arouse suspicions from the other woman, least she decided to ask questions Bulma thought they were not ready to answer.

"Do you guys want desserts? Vegeta?" He gave her a look. "Ri~ight. How silly of me to ask." She said rolling her eyes. She turned to Sam. "Do you want some ice-cream, too, Sam?"

"Ice-cream?? That's what Vegeta's look meant? How did you know?"

"Nah! That look meant something like 'What do you think, baka Onna?'" Bulma said making her voice sound lower in an attempt to imitate him which earned her a giggle from Sam and a glare from the Prince. "It was a silly question because that's the only thing Vegeta ever takes for dessert. He has a sweet tooth the size of this house, I tell you!" The last comment intensified the glare she was receiving ten fold.

"Really? Wow, Vegeta! I would have never thought so… it seems kind of out of character, ne?" Sam said with a grin from ear to ear.

Bulma burst out laughing. "You tell me! I couldn't believe it when I found out!" By now Vegeta was positively seething and Bulma thought it was not in her best interests to annoy him… any more, specially considering how things already were. "Anyway, Sam, do you want ice-cream or what?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah, sure! What flavor?"

"I think that there is a pot of lemon ice-cream left from the last time, and I bought some stracciatella and macadamia nuts yesterday."

"Hmmm… let's see… I think I'll have some of that lemon ice-cream, please."

"Sure, no problem. Vegeta?"

"Stracciatella."

"OK! Here, pass me your dishes. I'll go for the ice-cream." She said while piling the dishes and whatnot to make space for the dessert, when she saw Sam starting to get up and helping her. "No, no, Sam! Stay there! I can take it myself, thanks. I'll be back in no time." With that said Bulma picked up the plates and went to the kitchen, at the other side of the roomleaving the other two to each other.

Sam had finally relaxed slightly within his presence after the hour spent chatting, but she wasn't totally at ease with him, yet, so she decided that she better say something before the silence became too much for her. "Hey, Vegeta, you've barely said anything all this time, have we been boring you? I mean, I know we haven't had any consideration, you probably didn't know what the hell we were talking about half the time, it's something that happens a lot to me, I get so engrossed telling my friends about my projects and whatnot that forget they can't understand what I'm talking about..." Seeing the dark look that he sent her, she quickly added "and I don't mean to say that you are stupid or anything, you know, just that well... this is not every day concepts we're talking about, but the kind of things you've got to have spent five years at a college to understand, and well, you don't look like-"

"Stop your babbling already! No, I haven't gone to college, and no, I'm not stupid either, and yes, your chatter has been boring to hell, but for you information I'll tell you that I could keep up with what you were talking about, even if I don't know all the technical crap. You scientists just have the fucking tendency to think that the rest of the world is oblivious when you start with the big words."

It was obvious to Sam that she'd said something that had ticked him off, even if she wasn't exactly sure what it was. She was pretty sure, though, that he didn't have the greatest of opinions about scientists in general. "I'm sorry, Vegeta, I didn't meant to offend you. I should learn to keep my mouth shut, you know, I always talk too much, and it's obvious that you don't like scientists, and I didn't know it, so I just went on and on…" Again he was sending her that glare and she realized that she was doing it again. "Sorry." She said sheepishly. After that, seeing that he wasn't going to reply and not standing the silence too long she decided to make him talk, it seemed the safest. "Anyways, why don't you like scientists?"

"None of your business."

~What a conversationalist~ she thought to herself. "O~okay! And with your dislike of us scientists how come you're living with Bulma?? Yamcha told me you've been living here for nearly two years, now."

Bulma was bringing the desserts at that moment and Sam look at her in time to see her freeze for a moment and then force a smile on her face and finish serving. A bowl of lemon ice-cream for Sam and another one for herself and the whole pot of stracciatella for Vegeta. Vegeta, on the other hand, just gave her an appraising look, as if debating whether it was worth it the time to answer her questions. Finally he seemed to come to a decision, which Sam supposed was in her favor for he answered. "My people was massacred when I was a child; just a handful of us survived. A few years ago I discovered that there was another survivor and that he lived here. He left our home when he was a baby and thus didn't know anything about us, so I came looking for him. Turned out he was the Onna's best friend. I'd been traveling around all these years and didn't have a home to go to so we struck a deal of sorts with the Onna: I showed her some of the technology my people used and she let me stay here for a while."

Bulma's face had shown more and more surprise the more the man said, Sam observed. She was sure that by the end, the other woman's jaw had to be hurting from the way it was hanging so low. Sam wasn't sure what had caused such reaction, but from the little she knew about Vegeta she was pretty sure that he didn't usually talk this much or about such things. As a matter of fact, Sam was pretty sure that he'd said more to her in that answer than he'd said to her since she'd known him and from Bulma's reaction Sam would bet that it was no easy thing to get an straight answer out of the man. Somehow she felt that he'd decided not only whether to answer her question or not, but to let her have an insight of his life for the night, meaning that he'd answer her questions. Or so she hoped. And she wasn't about to waste it, the man seemed very interesting. "Damn! All your clan killed?? That's horrible! What was the name of your clan? I've always felt very curious about different cultures and traditions, maybe I've heard of them."

It took him a few minutes to answer this one. He had decided that they needed to create some background for their story to be believable. Because of this he intended to answer the necessary questions tonight, this way it wouldn't seem that this relationship came out of the blue, and he was confident that the girl would spill it to the weakling. It was her that was curious and asking, just the better that it benefited them, too. Still, he hadn't thought that she'd be curious about his people; his past he could deal with, but his people was a sore subject. Not even the Onna or Kakarot knew much about them. "Saiyans."

"Oh, first time I hear about them, how were they like?" Sam noticed that now even Bulma's attention was picked up, and not surprised or anything, just genuinely interested.

"The Saiyans were warriors. Our people were some of the most skilled warriors ever. Proud and strong, the only thing more important than strength in our culture was honor. My culture is very different from yours. Even our technology was different from yours which is why I'm here."

"Uh? I don't understand. What do you mean 'why you're here'? I thought you came looking for Bulma's friend…"

"Baka! I mean why I'm living with the Onna. My people had developed the necessary technology to improve our lifestyle, which is not the same as yours. I'm showing the Onna some of it so that she can either adapt it to your needs or use some of the principles for other projects."

"But you are a fighter, not a tech! How can you-?"

"Don't start again, girl, I've warned you once!!" She was trying his patience. Even if it was in his best interest to answer her questions, that didn't mean that he had to like it or that she could get away with stupid commentaries! He took a deep breath, though, and tried to explain himself seeing the reaction his outburst had caused. "I told you I understand the basics so I can tell the Onna how a machine works and she can figure the details by herself. Hasn't she told you about our current project? A gravity simulator." And if he could pass the attention over to Bulma for a while all the better.

"Bulma! How come you haven't told me anything about it?!"

Bulma was having some problems keeping up with everything that had been happening tonight. They had some talking to do as soon as Sam left, that was for sure. At the moment, however, she was doing some fast thinking trying to come up with something believable to add to Vegeta's story. "Um… well, you see, I didn't think you'd be interested in it. It's a personal project of sorts, CC as a company doesn't know about it, the only ones working on it have been the two of us and my father. It's not as if it has much potential as it is, a gravity chamber as we've built would be of use to the army and to some labs that needed to recreate specific conditions of gravity." She was getting into the story little by little and she found herself thinking about the GR as if it really were a project. "In spite of this, though, we've been working on the gravity chamber for over a year, now, improving it and adding new appliances that make it more serviceable and easy to work with because the principle in itself may be very useful in other contexts, life in space and spaceships being just an example. I can show you the blueprints and explain some of our latest ideas to you another day, if you want."

"That'd be great, it seems very interesting! But tell me, Bulma, how do you test it? It's not as if you could put a balance in there and some weights, it would get crushed eventually, right?"

"Oh, that's part of what Vegeta does. He can withstand the gravity pretty well and he's been training in the chamber prototype we've built since the beginning. By now he can tell if the gravity is that which he has asked for, if it's stable, if there's any danger… he usually manages to push the machine to its limit. Furthermore, to add more challenge to the training he usually comes up with very interesting ideas. What you said about the balance being crushed, well, we've developed a special material of which we make some bots for his training that is capable, if the robot is small and light enough, to withstand as high gravity as Vegeta himself, which is quite a bit."

"Oh, so you must be a very skilled fighter, right? Don't laugh at me, ok, but when I was younger I went to some classes of self-defense. I thought it'd be wise, you know, this is a big city and I live alone… don't know. Anyway, I liked the adrenaline rush of the fight - even if we didn't do much, it was just self-defense - so much that when those classes ended I took up some karate classes, but I was too busy to go every day and I finally discovered that at the college's gym - I was still studying back then - they offered some free classes called 'body-combat' that just mixed a little bit of everything: boxing, karate, tai-chi… and made a choreography with all those moves in time with the music, fast music. That was great, I'd spend the whole day sitting and studying and then, before going home, I'd go and spend all excess energy kicking and punching at thin air. Now I have a punching bag at home… it's not the same, but I can beat the shit out of something when I'm too frustrated for words and it feels great!" she finished grinning at her two companions. Vegeta's face was impassive as always, but there was the slightest bit of amusement in his eyes. "I told you not to laugh at me, Vegeta!"

"I'm not laughing, girl."

"Maybe not on the outside."

That only got her an smirk, which was answer enough for Sam. "I know I'm just an amateur and I'm not pretending to be a very skilled fighter, ok? I just do this for fun and I was just commenting on it, I thought you'd like this topic better… hey, Bulma, you should try it, and having someone at home who really knows how to go about it, Vegeta could give you a hand!"

That didn't get her the response she was expecting. Instead, Bulma suddenly went tense and all the amusement left Vegeta's face in an instant. Finally it was he who answered, "Oh, the Onna already thought about it, but after a while decided that I didn't take her seriously enough and that she'd be better off with Kakarot, who is bound to take this very seriously and will do a better job than me." The words dripping with as much sarcasm and venom as he could muster.

"Oh, come on Vegeta! That was said in the heat of the moment and I really didn't mean it, but you've been avoiding…" she suddenly remembered Sam and changed the 'me' she had intended on saying "…the subject since then! How the hell I'm supposed to apologize if you won't even let me open my mouth?!"

"Oh, sorry, how silly of me to forget that it's MY fault, right? That's how things go with you, you're never at fault."

By now both of them had completely forgotten Sam who was doing her best to melt in the chair or, at the very least, become as invisible as possible. The both of them were great people when civil, but when angry they were both forces to reckon. After the last comment Bulma had thrown her napkin to the table with as much force as she had and had stood up.

"Fuck you Vegeta! Here I am trying to apologize to you, admitting that what I said was wrong and totally out of place and you go pulling that victim crap on me? Well Vegeta, for the record, it was MY fault, all right, but it was your fault as well, you had no right to put me down like that when things were going so well. Maybe it didn't go as smoothly as you wanted but it was no reason to belittle me the way you did. You think you're so perfect well, guess what, you're not!"

At this point Vegeta suddenly got up from the table and before anybody could react he was in front of Bulma, crushing her to him and kissing her to an inch of her life. At first Bulma went suddenly tense but it took her only a moment to melt into his embrace and kiss back with as much passion and hunger, hands roaming each other's body desperately. Meanwhile Sam was left gaping at the two and idly wondering how they could have gone so easily from biting each other heads off to practically fucking on the dinning-room table, all the while so focused on each other that they had totally forgotten about her. One thing was for sure: they were very well suited for each other.

After a while of this and no sign of an end in the near future Sam decided that it would be best for her to say good-bye and leave the two of them to each other before things got too heated and Sam got an eyeful ~Not that I would mind, they're HOT together!!! But somehow I don't think they'd be very pleased about it… ~ So she tried clearing her throat a couple of times and when that didn't get her any reaction she started hesitantly all the while edging slowly to the front door. "Um… guys? You remember I'm here, right? I think I'll be going, you know, seeing as you're so busy and everything…"

Finally Bulma seemed to hear her, separated hastily from him and took a few steps back looking around with wide, dazed eyes which finally rested on the other woman when she turned around. "SAM! Oh my! I didn't mean… you know… I'm sorry… err-" She went bright red.

Vegeta went back to her, arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck briefly and whispered to her ear, "Come on, Onna, the girl doesn't seemed upset, more like she enjoyed the show, right?" he asked over Bulma's shoulder. He didn't look the least bit repentant. "Now be a good hostess and show her to the door… but make it quick, ok? I want to finish this…" He said as he thrust slightly against her backside and let her go.

~*~

Fifteen minutes later found Bulma waving good-bye at the rapidly retreating form of her new friend. She had lent the other woman one of her capsule vehicles so that she didn't have to navigate the forest in the dark seeing as Sam wouldn't let her accompany her back to CC saying that she had already interrupted enough. Bulma had been very embarrassed by the whole situation, but Sam had reassured her that she was not offended, that it was good to see a couple who did not fear to openly argue about their problems and who could then make up without second thoughts. ~ Well, being scared of arguing with each other is most assuredly not our problem... ~

Looking back Bulma could clearly see that it all had been a very well timed act to cover up their fight - that had been real, alright! - but with no feelings or even passion behind it. It had all been for Sam's benefit up to that last thrust against her rear end which had had no more meaning other than being the topping to their performance tonight. She had to admit, though, that that little detail had bothered her because, act or not, his advances always managed to get her all worked up but he didn't seem affected in the least. There hadn't been the slightest of bulges under those gi pants.

Anyway, she could see how it had been necessary, and, considering he was the one to start the fight unnecessarily, the least he could do was cover it up. By now she had calmed herself enough to face him again, despite how things had gone, this night had brought at very least one good thing: she'd finally have an opportunity to talk to him, though now she had even more questions to ask him; his behavior that night had aroused quite a number of them, indeed.

So, with what would probably be a long and trying conversation up ahead she entered back and looked around the first floor for him. She finally spotted his darkened figure in the porch. She approached him. He was facing the lake, with his back to her and his arms crossed over his chest. There wasn't any indication that he'd even heard her go out to the balcony with him. She knew that their fight had been left unfinished and wasn't sure how to end it without having to resort to screaming her head off. After a while of the two of them out there in complete silence he finally turned to her.

"We made a deal. I gave you my word that I'd help you with this plan of yours to get the weakling back and I'm not going to back down from that no matter what my opinion of said of plan... or of you might be. Have no worry, however, that that might influence my performance, as you've seen tonight." With that said he moved as if to go back into the house. Conversation clearly finished in his mind. Bulma wasn't having any of that, though. So she put herself in his path, blocking his exit. That hadn't been, by far, all the explanation she wanted.

He looked down at her as she stood in front of him. The annoyance clearly visible in the frown that marred his features. "What now, Onna? Wasn't that what you wanted to know? Why I had come tonight?"

"That's not the ONLY thing I wanted to talk about. But anyways, one thing at a time, I guess. Let's see if I understand this: what you're telling me is that since we have a deal you're gonna stick to it no matter what; even if you hated my guts you'd still put on the act and kiss me and… well, whatever it is we have to do, is that right? And nobody will notice." She said, blushing slightly at the last part as it appeared in her mind for the first time what they may end up doing together for the sake of the plan.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Believe me, I've done 'whatever', as you put it, with far more disgusting creatures for far less amusing objectives than this. It won't be a problem."

"No, Vegeta, stop it. You don't understand. You're trying to reassure me that you'll be able to do it; I don't have a doubt about it. The problem is that 'I''ll know that you're faking, 'I''ll know that you hate me and that's not acceptable. I can't do this with you knowing that you can't stand to be in the same room as me."

"Well, Onna. If my attitude is not acceptable and I'm not what you want for this you can always go and ask somebody else… Too bad that Kakarot is already married and won't do for this, right?" His voice had gone from bored and annoyed to pure ice and his face was now a total blank.

~ Shit! ~ was all that came to mind at his words. Seemed that they'd have to patch that little problem before anything else could be approached. "Okay Vegeta, let's clear this up, ok? From what you told me that day I think it's safe to assume that what angered you so much was my last comment about my training. As I've said already tonight, I know that that particular comment was way out of place and totally untrue. I want to apologize for saying that. You've been a great sensei and Son-kun probably wouldn't be half as good. It was awful of me to compare you to him knowing how much you hate him and the fact that… well… that he was able to turn super-saiyan and defeat Frieza when you couldn't - Wait, let me finish, I'm not trying to mock you or anything. What I've just said it's the truth and you know it, and since then you've been training a lot to be better than him and you probably will, in time, considering how determined you are. I never meant to say that he was better than you in any aspect - as a matter of fact I think you are way better than he could ever be at training - but I knew that it is a sore subject and that I'd hit a nerve with that comment, even if it was not true. I'm sorry."

He looked blankly at her and briefly nodded, as if saying he'd heard what she had just said. She waited expectantly for him to say something but after a while she concluded that that was all he was going to do. So, he had acknowledged her apology, nothing more. She hadn't been expecting him to forgive her, either. For one, he wasn't known for his forgiving nature, on the contrary, he was prone to holding grudges. On the other hand, she was fairly sure that words didn't mean much to him, specially not rehearsed ones like these, so she guessed that if he ever forgave her for this it'd take time. For now, him having listened to what she had to say would have to be enough.

This out of the way she went back to the topic at hand. "Ok, now about what I was telling you… it's not that I think you're not doing well or that I'd like someone else to be helping me in your place, it's just that… ummm… how to explain it… you seem to have no problem at all to pretend to be… my boyfriend no matter what you really think of me or what I think of you. You just do what is needed to make it look real, with no thoughts to feelings or anything else. I can't do that. We may be faking, but we're faking something very intimate and that holds a lot of meaning for me. I take my relationships very seriously and while in this case there is no need for me to be so very involved, I still need to put my heart into it at some level. I can't dismiss the fact that you hate me or that you'd sooner be doing anything else than having to stand me and pretend to be happily in love with you. Do you understand?" She knew it wasn't likely, he wasn't very well versed into this; he had no problem putting people's opinion behind him and doing what he needed to.

"No Onna, you're not making sense. You want me to like you? Because if that's the case you should have thought about it before you even asked me. You knew then as well as you do now that I don't like you or your species and that if I'm still on this mud ball is because of my trying and to defeat Kakarot after I reach SS. I'm sure you don't need a reminder of what I think of ningens in general and you in particular."

"No Vegeta, there's no need for that, let's keep it civil, 'k?" she said through tightly clenched teeth to try and do just that instead of setting off one of their fights. After a few moments and somewhat calmer she continued. "I don't expect you to 'like' me, Vegeta. I just don't want you to dislike me. No, wait! That leaves you indifferent to me - nor like me nor dislike me - and that's not it, either… I know that you don't like humans but I'm sure that you've met humans that are more… bearable than others. Look Vegeta, I had always had the impression that while you didn't think greatly about my species, you didn't mind my company too much, in fact, a couple weeks ago I would have said that you kind of enjoyed our 'fights'. I gotta admit that I enjoy them, too, there's not many people with the guts to stand up to me and able to give as much as they get, and I'm pretty sure that the same happens to you, doesn't it? You see, I don't mind us fighting, I don't mind your standoffish attitude - which does not mean that I like it or that I'm going to bitch about it any less - that's how we interact with each other, and that's fine - more or less - I just want you to go back to that, not to hate me and ignore me and avoid me like that plague like you've been doing these past days."

Bulma looked pleadingly at him. It seemed that she'd given up on trying to explain why she needed this and decided to concentrate on what she needed. In his opinion she was making a mountain out of a rather stupid problem - which he didn't understand in the first place - and was getting very fed up with this conversation so he decided to cut straight to the point and finish as soon as possible. "Ok, Onna, let's see, I don't hate as you seem to think, and yes, I enjoy our verbal lashings. But even if you are slightly more bearable than most ningens, that doesn't mean that I enjoy your company for prolonged periods of time or that I won't ignore you when I'm not in the mood to put up with you. Onna, the discussion from the other day hasn't changed my opinion about you too much, you know? So if you were ok with how things were before that, you should be ok with how things are now."

He was getting frustrated with the conversation and wanted and end to it, she could tell. And well, if he said that his opinion about her hadn't changed… she could believe him, he wouldn't lie to her just to avoid hurting her feelings, on the contrary, he was usually brutally honest about what he thought about other people with no regards to what they felt about it. Ok, that was what she had asked of him, in the first place, to go back to how things were… "Ok, if you say things haven't changed I'll believe you, that's all I wanted, thank you. Now, Vegeta, if you don't mind, what the hell possessed you to suddenly open up to Sam like that and come up with some story about alien technology and-"

"Stop. You want to discuss how things are with your plan, we'll do. Tomorrow over dinner like usual. It was your fault in the first place for bringing her here without telling me before or we could have talked about what to tell her beforehand. Now, I've cut my training enough today. Good night."

With that he turned around and went back to looking over the lake in front of him like she had found him. She was ready to say something else, to pursue the conversation, but he had cut her off, already, and she guessed that with how things had been, with this out of the way they could talk about their 'background' together another day. As a matter of fact she hadn't thought about it before Sam had started asking questions so it was a good thing he had come up with something believable so quickly. They'd think about the little details tomorrow. So in the end she ended up muttering a soft "'Night" and went back to the house and headed to the stairs. It was late enough as it was and tomorrow she had work to do.

Half way up the stairs she turned back to the balcony. Despite his claiming to want to go back to training he was still there, perfectly still just as she'd left him. What could he be thinking out there? She figured that she'd never know, he wasn't bound to tell her, so she shrugged and went up the rest of the stairs and into her room.

She was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow.

~*~

Vegeta didn't even notice when she finally left, already lost in thought. As much as she usually forgot that he was an alien, he did as well. The last few days had been proof enough of that.

~ She thinks that I've been avoiding her because of her comment on Kakarot. Foolish Onna. Shows her how much she really knows me. To a comment like that I would have responded with anger and pride and words full of venom and meant to stab as painfully as possible. Probably with a side line or two about her uselessness and ugliness and how utterly annoying she was, so much so that even the puny earthling she had called her boyfriend had finally left her. No, that hadn't been what really got to me.

How dare she even suggest that I didn't take training seriously? Her training, my training... it doesn't make much of a difference in my mind, not when it comes to how seriously I plan them. This is all I have, the only thing that nobody can take from me from my people. Saiyans were people of honor and strength. We stood by our own, protected our pack and stayed loyal, always. I don't have a planet anymore, no pack and no one to call my own. Whatever honor I managed to keep from my time with the lizard is still at odds with my pride and my distrust of these people. So I devote my time to the only thing that has managed to keep me together during most of my life aside from my pride: my strength. To be strong, the strongest, to accomplish my goal, what my father always wanted for me, what my people looked at me for... and she dares belittle that.

For Saiyans there weren't many things that supposed more honor than to have someone else come and ask you to train them. It meant that they recognized your skill and your strength and wanted you to help them attain what you already had. I know she probably didn't think much of asking me to train her, I was the most practical option considering that we live together. Yet that didn't mean any less to me. It wasn't even questionable. If she wanted me to train her, I'd do it, no problem. Besides, even if her species doesn't put any importance on it, my people thought that it was everyone's right and obligation to train themselves to the peak of their power and skills. She had never trained even though she had spent half her life surrounded by fighters, it was high time that someone taught her a couple of things.

Sometimes, even when I can feel her weak ki, her strong will and the fieriness she shows makes me forget that her culture and mine are as far away from each another as our planets. Our argument in the GR was like a punch in the gut. A painful reminder of the fact that there's nobody else beside me to remember, that Kakarot is just an empty shell of a Saiyan, that he killed his brother and that I myself killed the only other that was left. Of course, if it weren't for how things have ended up, it probably was a good thing that somebody put and end to Raditz's life: it's not easy to be the weakest of the only three remaining members of a species, constantly mocked and ridiculed at the best of times. As for my actions... things were very fucked up then, our minds were very fucked up. It's amazing what dying and been given a second chance at life in a rather peaceful and secure environment can do to one's mind. ~

Vegeta shook his head at this. It wasn't the time to stroll down that too worn path of thought. He looked around himself. It was a beautiful setting the Onna had chosen to put their house in, he had to admit. The forest and the lake, so different from his own home planet, still managed to bring him a certain peace of mind, evoking some of the natural freedom and beauty that had been Vegeta-sei. They were deep enough into the forest that the city lights didn't block his view from the sky and the space and the only home he'd known for more than twenty years. He liked to look up at the stars and try to locate some of the places were he'd been in his life. Some nights he tried to drown out any thought process by concentrating on the task of making the astral maps he had in his head fit with the view of the space that this planet offered. Other nights, like tonight, he just let the thought that he didn't have to go back there if he didn't want to, soothe him into some sort of relaxation. Calm again he resumed his previous train of thought.

~ She and I are very different. The discussion the other day brought that fact clearly home. Our chat just now only managed to reafirm that. I spend a couple of days ignoring her and she comes back all hurt and stuff! Damn ningens and their frail sensitivities! And what's all this crap about me hating her? She makes a mountain out of nothing. So we had a fight, so I've spent the last days avoiding her… how does she jump from that to the conclusion that I hate her?

Besides, she uses that word far too easily. Hate is a powerful feeling, one that I've felt a lot during my life. She doesn't even know what real hate feels like. Nobody in this planet has done anything truly deserving of my hate, not even Kakarot despite everything he has done has earned my hate; sure, I resent him and I want to defeat him and kill him as slowly as possible and then I'll probably send this goddamn mud ball to the next dimension and be done with it, but I don't truly hate him. And she asks me not to hate her.

She's not that bad. For being a ningen, that is. I don't have anything good to say about any of her species: they're weak, too stupid to even realize that they're surrounded by a well organized civilization conformed by the rest of the inhabitants of the universe and so full of themselves that they think they're the only 'intelligent' life that exists. They depend too much on technology, fight between themselves and keep on wasting their resources and destroying their planet. All in all, the perfect race for Frieza to send someone like me to annihilate and give some good use to this planet. She, at the very least has some spirit in her and can say that she has a couple of brain cells together. I can count on the fingers of a hand all the people here about whom I can say that.

She has provided me with food, a place to live and training facilities - of course, me staying here and becoming stronger also benefits her, but at least she had the common sense to realize that and the guts to do something about it. I think that she may be someone I could come to respect, in time. Because even if I don't understand many of the things she does and her motivations or some of the concepts her society is based on, I can see her worthiness as an individual. I've traveled a lot and met a lot of different races, I'm used to not understanding people's motivations and to have to learn to adapt somewhat to other cultures and I've learned to set some of these differences apart to be able to recognize those who could be worthy of my respect and even admiration, in some cases.

But that may be in time. As I told the weakling, I truly believe that she needs to grow up and mature. Then she might become a truly outstanding member of her society. For now she is not much more than an annoyance to me. She doubts herself and doubts the rest of us, which is probably why she was so upset about me avoiding her and hating her and that also means that she is very dependable of the people she surrounds herself with. I personally don't see how that could be any good to her, but the people in this planet seem to think that it's good to depend on 'friends', another term that they seem to use very easily. Then again, they use many terms easily, many emotions too, and at the same time they are rather hard pressed to use other ones. They have some stupid taboos that I don't understand, either. What was all the problem with her having sex with me or with us pretending and parading in front of the weakling? She wasn't even able to say the word 'sex', and even thinking about it she ended up blushing! They make friends with people after five minutes of meeting them, hate each other because of some stupid arguments and find the love of their lives at first sight, and yet, when it comes to sex, they have so many problems with having it with someone based in looks alone or mutual benefit.

I don't think I'll ever understand ningens!

Well, certainly not tonight, and I'm not in the state of mind to do any useful training, so I might go grab some hours of sleep and start in the morning. Staying out here and thinking about confusing races will surely do me no good. ~

With that he floated out of the porch and circled the house to finally enter his room through the window and call it a night.

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* Well, this is chapter five complete. As I said it was not finished the first time I posted it, and now I've added that little part of Bulma and Sam talking through lunch time. I'm not sure if it was worth the repost of the chapter for this but anyway, here it is. Hope you like the finished thing. *

First of all, I'm very sorry for the huge delay, but I already warned you all that this could happen. Anyways, I'm very thankful to the people that lastly have been sending me comments encouraging me to keep working and get this chapter out. And thank you too to all of you who had reviewed.

Lastly I just wanted to say that I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint anyone. I think some of you expected to see some more 'action' and while there a couple of scenes with a rather sexual tint to them, the main thing in this chapter has been the… ummm… psychological crap, you could say. That's to be expected. I just wanted to warn you. While there'll be a healthy dose of lime and lemons through all the fic, there will be a lot of insight in the characters and how I see them, thus the title of the fic.

Tell me what do you think of the fic so far, what do you think about my trying at a piece from Vegeta's mind like the last part? Does it sound OOC? I hope I'll hear from you and till the next update. See ya! ^^