Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Arrangement ❯ Better Luck Next Time ( Chapter 7 )

Bulma stared blankly at the red spots staining her underwear. Mechanically she cleaned herself up and threw the ruined garment into the trash. She stood in the middle of the bathroom building up steam for a good holler. She indulged herself in one frustrated howl, but then got a grip on herself.

"It's not fair!" she groused. "It's just not fair. Chichi got pregnant their first night! I thought Saiyans were supposed to have super sperm!" She hadn't realized just how much she was looking forward to having this baby. She wasn't prepared for the sense of loss she felt now, and it was a while before she felt ready to go out and face the world again.

"Okay, Bulma," she said to herself at last. "So you aren't pregnant yet. No biggie. This was only the first try, there's always next month. There's no need to get worked up about it." She hit the floor, but in a playfully aggravated kind of way. "I'll go work in the lab for awhile. Nothing calms me down like creating another mind-boggling miracle!" Having successfully vented and recovered, she nodded happily to herself and set off.

"Whew!" she said as she threw herself onto her bed. She had successfully submerged herself in her lab all afternoon and was feeling much better emotionally, but she was beat! "Oh man," she moaned, stretching. "That was far too much time sitting on that stupid lab chair! Tomorrow I start developing one that doesn't wreck my back." Bulma glanced at the clock and was relieved to find she had plenty of time to relax and still be able to get a good night's sleep. "It's pampering time!"

She'd just settled herself into her bed with her most comfortable blanket, a mug of hot chocolate loaded down with whipped cream and her favorite movie when Vegeta strolled in.

"What are you doing?" he asked scornfully as he took in her comfy little tableau.

"Oh, Vegeta," she said, frowning irritably at him. "Not tonight, okay?" An Earth man might have picked up on the clues and figured out what was going on, but Vegeta wasn't and therefore didn't.

He folded his arms and glared at her. She was tempted to tell him how petulant he looked, but she didn't feel like goading him tonight. "Why not?" he demanded bluntly.

"Because I'm on my period!" she said, returning his glare. "Now go away and let me have my chocolate before I decide to kill someone. Preferably you."

"I'd like to see you try," he sneered. "I haven't had a good laugh for awhile."

"Just go away, Vegeta. I'm not in the mood tonight."

"Who'd want to sleep with such a moody bitch anyway?" he snarled, then turned and stormed out of the room.

Bulma snickered to herself. "I think he's sulking!"

"I demand an explanation."

Vegeta was in her room, for the third night in a row. Bulma felt like she was being personally treated to a show of just how far beyond persistent Vegeta could be. She sighed irritably. "Like I told you last night, and the night before that-- I'm on my period. That means no bed time games."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, snarling quietly and folding his arms imperiously. "What," he growled, obviously furious at being forced to admit ignorance, "is this 'period'?"

Bulma was completely nonplussed. "Uh..." she said, staring at him in blank shock. "It's... um... It's... You really don't know?"

"Why the hell should I?" he snapped. "I have better things to do with my time than study the workings of the female Human!"

"How did female Saiyans work, then?"

"I might explain it to you, if you tell me what this 'period' thing is."

"Sit down, Vegeta," she said, patting the bed next to her. "DON'T get any funny ideas," she said, responding to a minute change of expression on his face. "I just don't feel like craning my neck to look at you over there." He stalked over, dropped himself on the bed and sat there glaring at her impatiently. Now that he was sitting in front of her, waiting for her explanation, Bulma's mind started gibbering in disbelief. //I've got to teach Vegeta Sex Ed?// She wasn't sure whether she wanted to bury her head under the pillows in mortification or roll on the floor laughing. Since either option would push him beyond what his limited temper could take, she took a calming breath and began.

"Human women have an organ in their bodies called the uterus. The uterus is where infants grow."

"You mean that you-- the baby-- THERE?" Vegeta said, pointing at her stomach and looking surprised and curious.

Bulma laughed. "More or less. A little lower, actually." She patted her belly and smiled beatifically, imagining the feel of a baby. Vegeta waved a hand in front of her eyes impatiently.

"Your species is even more bizarre than I thought. But you still haven't explained this 'period' thing."

She glared at him for interrupting her daydream. "Well," she snapped, "once a month the uterus grows a special lining that'll help to nourish the baby, but if no baby is started in that time, the lining is shed. That's a period." A thought struck her. "If you didn't know any of this... why did you agree to sleep with me?"

Vegeta turned his head to glare at the wall, and Bulma was struck (momentarily) speechless at the sight of the blush creeping up the back of his neck. "I told you," he said gruffly. "I didn't know how human women worked. I figured that you had to know what you were doing; you humans are stupid but any species THAT stupid wouldn't be in the position that yours is in."

"Rule number one of zoology, Vegeta. If two species can breed and produce fertile offspring, then they're actually the same species. What about little Gohan, hmm?"

"Well, there's a few more years before we have all the data on THAT, ," he growled, obviously displeased with the implication that Saiyans and Humans were the same species. Seeing her puzzled frown, he grinned wickedly. "Unless you were planning on trying to breed the brat now?"

"WHAT?" she shouted. "He's only nine, that's just sick!"

"My point exactly," Vegeta said smugly.

"Jerk." Vegeta only smirked at her.

"One thing you haven't explained yet, . How long will your 'period' last?"

Their odd conversation was bringing out the scientist in her. "Periods usually last from three to five days. My periods, however, last about six days."

"Three more nights to go," he grunted, then stood to leave.

"Hold it right there, bud!" she said, lunging forward and grabbing the back of his shirt. "You haven't told me about Saiyan women!" He turned and stared at her coldly. Glaring defiantly at him, she tugged on his shirt, trying to make him sit again. He snorted and pulled out of her grip easily. To her surprise though, he didn't leave. He just stood there next to her bed with his arms folded.

"First of all , it's 'Saiya-jin' not 'Saiyan,'" he said. "If your son is going to be of my blood, you should at least be able to pronounce his noble heritage."

Bulma frowned. "Sayajin," she said. He scowled at her.

"Sa-ii-ya-jin," he said, pronouncing each syllable clearly, if irritably.

"Sa-ii-ya-jin," she repeated triumphantly. She recognized the look on his face as his version of a wolfish grin-- a deep smirk with his lips open just enough to reveal the tips of his canine teeth.

"Saiya-jin," he said, practically spitting it out.

"Saiya-jin," she responded quickly.

"Much better," he said smugly. He looked both pleased and disgruntled that she'd caught on so quickly.

"Now, about Saiya-jin women," Bulma prodded.

"Saiya-jin women had a much neater arrangement than you do. When they were of breeding age, their ransou--"

"Their what?"

"Ransou-- their egg organs."

"Oh. Ovaries."

"Whatever. Their 'ovaries' were removed and cataloged in the gene banks. Their genes were analyzed and matched with the best suiting male genes. Infants were conceived and brought to term in birthing pods."

Bulma felt a little sick at the thought. How impersonal-- how did anyone have a family? Forgetting who she was talking to, she blurted her question out. To her surprise, Vegeta answered calmly.

"Girls were raised by their mothers, boys were raised by their fathers."

Bulma was quiet for a moment, her mind working busily over this new information. Then her head snapped up. "So, did Saiya-jins have sex or not?" she asked, stopping Vegeta in his tracks. He sputtered at her from the doorway.

"Of course!"

"What was it like?"

"I was five years old when Freeza destroyed the planet!" Vegeta had turned beet red.

"So you don't know," she said, obscurely disappointed.

"No, I don't!" he snapped, sounding almost panicked. Bulma relented and let him off the hook, even though it was so much fun to have His Grumpiness so flummoxed.

"Oh well," she shrugged. "I guess I'll see you later, okay?"

"If you're lucky," he muttered, trying not to be obvious about his haste to leave. He failed.

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