Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Perfect Gift ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters in this story that you see in the TV show, manga, or movies. Please don't sue me.

Author's note: Hey everybody! I just decided to take a teeny little break from Uncertain Future because I thought I would write a nice little Christmas Fic. Don't be mad, I'll get back to UF soon, but I'm doing this now, so there.

Special Thanks to Vegetababe for Beta-ing!

The Perfect Gift

"Vegeta!" Bulma yelled. "Breakfast!" There was only a few days left until Christmas and Bulma was in a great mood. She had finished all of her shopping…well, almost. She still had no idea what to get for the proud Saiyan no Ouji.

She had gotten a brand new set of lab tools for her father, the most expensive, high tech, fancy looking tools on the market. She was sure he would love them. For her mother, a gift certificate for a day at the local beauty spa/salon. Bulma had gotten Chi-chi a brand new set of non-stick cookware and several cookbooks. Gohan would receive a new computer and Goku would get a gravity room capsule. For Yamucha, she had a brand new capsule convertible, customized especially for him. For Krillin, she had gotten a gift certificate for a brand new wardrobe at the men's tailor shop in the mall, since she figured he probably had a really hard time finding stylish clothing that actually fit him. Piccolo had been hard, but she had thought of the perfect gift. She knew he trained a lot, so she had a brand new weighted cape and turban made out of a nearly indestructible material. For Tien and Chautzu, new winter clothes since they must get awfully cold living up in the mountains. It was then that she had come across Vegeta…

What do you get for a man who wants nothing except to beat the crap out of Goku? He had everything he needed to train, and if he thought of something new he would simply scare her father into building it. Bulma sighed. What do you give an alien prince for a holiday he's never even heard of, and will most likely detest when he figures it out?

"What's with you Woman?" came a gruff voice from the doorway. "You're just staring off into space, and sighing. Boyfriend dump you again?" Vegeta taunted.

Bulma only smiled. "You can't ruin my good mood today! It's almost Christmas and I'm too excited to be angry!"

Vegeta looked confused. "And when were you planning to tell me what the bloody hell Christmas is? Is it another pointless Chikyuu celebration?" Bulma sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes.

"Just eat your breakfast." She said, throwing a pancake at him. He caught it effortlessly and shoved it in his mouth. Bulma piled a plate high with more and set it in front of him, along with the maple syrup. As Vegeta scarfed down his three helpings, Bulma told him the basic story of Christmas, trying to make it as short as possible. "…. So you see Vegeta, that's why we gather with family and friends to exchange gifts and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ."

Vegeta stared blankly at her. "Do I have to participate in this 'gift' giving thing of yours?"

"Of course you do you Baka! It's Christmas!" Bulma cried. "It'll be fun, and Goku is coming by today to take you to the mall so you can do your shopping. He'll be here in an hour."

"Kakarott? You mean I have to spend a whole day with that third class know nothing baka?" Vegeta raged. Bulma merely nodded.

"He has to do some of his Christmas shopping too so you can help him."

"Make me." Vegeta growled menacingly.

"Oh, well someone seems to be forgetting that his gravity machine is broken and dad won't be back till tomorrow to fix it. If you go, I'll do it while you're out shopping." She smiled sweetly as Vegeta proceeded to let out a nasty string of curses; many in languages she didn't understand but could tell were bad words anyway.

"Fine, I'll do it, but you will pay for this Woman." He growled, heading upstairs to shower and change.

"Coming!" Bulma called, rushing to the door. "Hi Goku! Vegeta'll be down in a sec." she said, letting her friend come in out of the cold.

Vegeta came down the stairs dressed in a simple outfit, consisting of a pair of loose jeans and a tight white shirt. Bulma blushed as she stared at his broad chest, the shirt highlighting all of his muscles perfectly. 'Stop it Bulma!' she thought. 'You have Yamucha, and Vegeta's a no good stuck up baka…Sure is cute though…'

"I can't believe you're making me do this!" Vegeta growled. 'Why is the Woman staring at me like that?'

"Come on Vegeta! We have to get going soon!" Goku cried while hopping impatiently from foot to foot. The Saiyan no Ouji simply rolled his eyes and followed his antsy rival out the door.

"Kakarott! You can not get your mate a singing plastic fish for Christmas." Vegeta sighed in exasperation. "Even I know that and I haven't even known about this 'Christmas' thing for more than 4 hours!"

"I guess you're probably right." Goku blushed sheepishly. "I just have no idea what to get her…" the tall Saiyan sighed.

"Hmm…" Vegeta murmured as his keen eyes scanned the surrounding area of the mall. "Why don't you get her one of those?" He asked, pointing to a store not far from where they were standing.

"But…but…but that's a l..l..lingerie store!" he sputtered, blushing uncontrollably.

"Oh come on Kakarott! You have a kid, you've seen her naked on more than one occasion, I hope. Now be a man and go by your mate some frilly little undies or something!" Vegeta growled, dragging Goku towards the Victoria's Secret store.

"I don't know about this Vegeta…I've never shopped for * gulp * ladies…undergarments before. Will you help me pick one out?"

Vegeta almost fell flat on his face. "Kakarott, what your loud, nosy, annoying mate uses to cover her ass is no business of mine, and neither do I wish it to be. You're on your own." He said, shoving the younger man into the store and running off before Goku could fully comprehend what just happened.

"Hmm, now what to get for the resident baka of the household…" he mused, smirking. "I bet the Woman could use a singing plastic fish now couldn't she?" he chuckled to himself, wandering into an art supply store. There it was. THE perfect gift for the Baka in question. 'It would, of course, involve a little work on my behalf, but I have a feeling that it might just be worth it.' he thought to himself, picking up Bulma's gift and paying for it.

Goku stood dumfounded, amidst a sea of silky undergarments, his face a classic shade of scarlet. "Excuse me sir, do you need any help?" A perky female asked, startling him so bad he jumped about 3 feet in the air.

Goku turned around to see a tiny woman standing behind him, wearing a name tag that read 'Beth.' "Ow!" he cried out, raising a hand to rub his neck.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Beth asked.

"Uh, no." he replied sheepishly, still rubbing his neck. "I just turned around to fast. I kinda got a bit of whiplash."

"Uhh…yes." Goku's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "I'm uhh…kind of looking for uh…a gift for my wife…"

"Well, do you know what size she wears?" Goku shook his head helplessly, wishing he had paid more attention to Chi-chi's body, rather than her cooking. "Well," Beth continued, "How big is she compared to me? Smaller, larger, taller, shorter?" Goku scratched his head, obviously in deep thought.

"Well, I guess she's a little taller than you, probably about an inch or two. Her waist is probably about the same size but her shoulders are a little broader and her…uhh…umm," he gulped, "her um…chest is uhhh…bigger." Goku was so embarrassed. 'I really should have bought the singing fish.' he thought.

Beth giggled. "This is your first time buying intimate apparel for your wife?" she asked. Goku nodded. "Well, we get plenty of guys who do this, and are even more clueless than you." Goku continued nodding. "Now, let's start by finding out what style you want to buy her. Panties, bra, teddy, a set maybe?" Goku shrugged. "Well, why don't I just start showing you things and if we find something you like, then we'll just go from there." Beth began showing the embarrassed Saiyan various sets of underwear, bras, nighties, and various other silky little garments.

"I uhhh…I kinda like that one." Goku murmured, pointing to a silk nightgown. It was ankle length with a slit all the way up to the hip on one side. It had very thin little spaghetti straps and was very low cut, designed to show a LOT of cleavage.

"Ohhhhh! What a good choice! See? This isn't so hard is it? Now, what color would you like?"

"Hrmmm, well, what color are her eyes?

"Brown."

"Hair?"

"Black."

"Well, I think you should go with the black one…Wait! Do you happen to have a picture of her?" Goku nodded, and pulled a picture of his family out of his wallet. "Ohh, she's pretty, you lucky guy." Beth giggled. "Definitely black. Let's go over to the counter and ring this up huh?" She laughed, heading to the cash register. Goku paid for his purchase and made his way out of the lingerie store, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Outside, he found Vegeta lounging on a bench, a few bags resting beside him.

"Hai."

"You wanna go home now?"

"Hai, just remember Kakarott, you might not want to give that to your mate on Christmas morning, it'll probably be better to wait until Christmas night." Vegeta smirked, picking up his bags, chuckling at Goku's still red face.

The two gathered their gifts and headed out to the parking lot, where Vegeta popped a capsule and hopped into the driver's seat after tossing his bags in the trunk. "I don't see why we didn't just fly Kakarott." he growled, starting the engine.

"Well, Bulma didn't really want us too. I guess she figures it might scare people." He replied.

"Let them be scared! Now, because you're too stupid to get your driver's license, I have to play chauffeur." Vegeta growled at Goku's sheepish look, and continued ranting. "I've only lived on this ball of mud for what, a year? You've lived here all your life and you can't even get a stupid baka human license to drive a stupid baka human vehicle." Vegeta smirked, enjoying the feeling of beating his rival for once. He had passed the test on his first try, goaded into it by Bulma's incessant picking and teasing. He blushed slightly, thinking of the little female. 'Kami! What's wrong with me? I'm going soft over a stupid human…I do hope she likes her present though…'

"Oh well Vegeta!" Goku smiled cheerfully. "Maybe next time huh?" The Saiyan no Ouji merely rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the road.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

"I'll see you later Mom!" Bulma called, heading out the door. "Yamucha's taking me to dinner and then dancing. I probably won't be home till later so don't bother waiting up!" She flounced down the front stairs and hopped quickly into Yamucha's car.

"Hey babe! You look gorgeous tonight!" Yamucha greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. 'I am soooo lucky to have him.' Bulma thought as they pulled out of the driveway.

Dinner had gone perfect. It had been like some sort of wonderful, unimaginable dream come true. Yamucha had bought her flowers, and complimented her over and over, telling her how pretty she looked and how lucky he was to have a girl like her. At the club though, things had started to go downhill.

"Come on Yamucha! Let's dance! Please?" Bulma whined. Her favorite song was playing and she was getting impatient. She wanted to get up and shake her groove thang, rather than sit at the table and mope. She was beginning to think that something was wrong.

"Not right yet sweetie, let me finish my drink and then we'll dance okay?" Yamucha laughed.

"Fine." Bulma sighed. "I'll be back soon, I have to use the ladies room." she got up out of her seat and headed towards the bathroom, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

As Bulma washed her hands, she began pondering what could be the problem. "Maybe he's broke and feels bad about not being able to buy me a nice gift." she wondered aloud. "He shouldn't feel bad, I don't need anything expensive, after all, it's the thought that counts isn't it? Wait a minute…he can't be broke, or else how would he have paid for dinner and my drink?" She put on a smile as she left the washroom, though still feeling very insecure underneath her façade of confidence.

When she stepped out the door, the music and atmosphere of the club hit her like a hammer. "Wow, maybe I should sit down for a while, I don't think I can dance quite yet." She made her way to the table, only to find Yamucha missing. "Where could he have gone?" she mused. "Maybe he's waiting for me on the dance floor." Her bright blue eyes did a quick scan of the hazy club, and filled with tears.

There was Yamucha, on the dance floor, making out with a petite little redhead. She turned her back to the couple, wiping her tears. Soon though, her sadness turned to rage. "How DARE he!" she cried out, her voice barely audible above the pumping sound system. She looked around quickly, and spied a glass of beer on a nearby table.

Grabbing the beer in hand, she headed out to the dance floor, making a beeline towards her so-called boyfriend. "Sorry, I assure you, this is for a good cause." She called back to the astonished man sitting at the table.

Bulma stormed onto the dance floor, the alcohol sloshing about in its glass, and tapped Yamucha on the back.

"Hey baby. I was looking for you…" he said nervously. Bulma said nothing; she merely proceeded to dump the entire contents of the glass on Yamucha's head, soaking him and the slutty redhead. Yamucha sputtered in embarrassment, his eyes wide.

"You can come by tomorrow and pick up all the stuff you left at my house. We're through." she said simply.

"Bulma wait!" Yamucha cried, grabbing Bulma by the wrist.

"Let go of me Yamucha." she said, in an eerily calm and quiet voice. By now the whole club was watching, even the music had stopped.

"Come on baby, we can work this out!" Yamucha pleaded. Bulma growled, a trait she had picked up from Vegeta, and spun around to face her now ex-boyfriend.

"YOU work it out! I'm LEAVING!" She yelled, yanking her wrist out of Yamucha's grasp and delivering him a swift kick in the family jewels with her platform shoes. Yamucha whimpered and sank to the ground, clutching is injured crotch. Bulma walked towards the door, but before she left, she turned and gave the 'victory' sign, amid cheers and clapping from the other club hoppers.

Once she was out of the club, the adrenaline rush began to dissipate and her confidence began to dissolve. Sinking on to a nearby bench, she proceeded to cry until she could cry no more. Pulling herself off the bench, she hailed a taxi and climbed in, directing the driver to take her home.

Vegeta had been working on Bulma's gift when he heard a car pull into the driveway. The snow squeaked under the rubber tires, irritating his sensitive ears. Hurriedly, he shoved the gift into his closet, carefully though, so as not to ruin it. Quickly, he changed out of his soiled clothing into a pair of cozy flannel pajama pants.

Bulma stumbled into through the front door, sobbing uncontrollably. She kicked off her shoes and moved into the living room, throwing herself onto the couch. Staring at the Christmas tree she had decorated with her family, she allowed herself to sink into the soft cushions, her tears abating. She smiled slightly, remembering the fun she and her parents had had decorating that tree. They had even managed to convince Vegeta to put the star on top, as none of them were tall enough and he was the only one capable of flight. Yamucha hadn't been there, and she now realized that he had probably been out with some girl or another. Sniffling, she wrapped her arms around herself and started crying again.

Suddenly, she felt a foreign presence in the room with her. She looked up to see Vegeta, clad in only his pajama pants, holding out a mug of steaming liquid towards her, a glass for himself in his other hand. Accepting the mug with puzzlement clear on her face, she took a sip. Hot chocolate, quite possibly her favorite seasonal beverage.

"Move over." Vegeta murmured, and Bulma obeyed, shuffling over to make room enough for the Saiyan no Ouji. The two sat in silence, sipping their hot chocolate and staring at the beautifully decorated tree. "Are you okay?" Vegeta murmured after the long period of silence, setting his empty mug on the table. Bulma followed suit soon after.

"I really don't know." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Vegeta could see the tears forming again in her eyes, and he did something very rare. He took pity on the little human female and wrapped one big strong arm around her, while pulling a soft quilt off of the back of the couch and over them both with the other. Bulma sighed and snuggled deep into Vegeta's embrace, comforted by his gentle warmth.

The couple sat like that for what seemed an eternity, just holding each other close, each enjoying the other's company for once. "It was terrible Vegeta." Bulma broke the silence with a heart wrenching sob. "Everything was going fine and then Yamucha wouldn't dance and there was this girl and I was crying but before that they were making out and then I was really upset and I kicked him after he made up some lame excuse and grabbed my wrist and I yelled and cried and then I walked out and people were clapping and I was cold and tired so I got into a taxi and…"

"Shhhh" Vegeta cut her off, gently placing a finger on her rambling lips. "Now, why don't you start from the beginning huh?" Bulma nodded, glad for the darkness in the room because she suddenly felt her cheeks growing very hot, and most likely very red. Snuggling back into Vegeta's bare chest, she recounted the tale of her entire night, pausing every once in a while to hear the Saiyan's comments.

"Thanks for listening Vegeta. I feel a lot better now." Bulma said softly after she was finished talking. Fighting a yawn, she continued. "I should probably go to bed soon."

"Me too." Vegeta replied, gently stroking her hair. However, neither made a move to go anywhere and after a few moments of silence, the conversation started up again. The two talked about all kinds of things, Bulma telling about her adventures with Goku, and Vegeta occasionally revealing little tidbits of information about his past and childhood, both stories eventually coming to the point of Vegeta's first arrival on Chikyuu.

"Okay," she sighed, "what's it feel like to lose your tail?" Vegeta sat for a moment, deep in thought.

"Well, I guess it feels like it would to lose any limb." he shrugged. "It feels kind of like a part of me is missing. I guess I got used to it, but I still miss it." Bulma picked up a rare note of sadness in Vegeta's voice. She knew that tone of voice, it meant that Vegeta was really upset. He must really miss his tail.

"What were tails used for? Were they like an extra arm?" Bulma murmured, her arms moving to encircle the Saiyan's trim waist.

"I dunno." Vegeta mumbled, sighing in pleasure as he felt Bulma's fingers making little trails up and down his spine. "Pretty much anything. They were considered sort of a status symbol. The longer and furrier your tail was, the better you were. Sort of like an unspoken social ladder." Vegeta continued, his voice getting raspier as Bulma's fingers went lower down his back. "The fur couldn't be really long or ratty though, had to be soft, kinda fluffy, but not too fluffy, thick…" Vegeta's words slowly morphed into a rumbling, throaty sound.

"You're purring!" Bulma giggled, stopping her ministrations.

"What's your point?" Vegeta glared at her.

"What do you mean? Do all Saiyans purr?"

"First of all, we do not purr. Cats purr. Secondly, yes. Most Saiyans do make that particular soft growl when happy." he spat.

"You're happy?" Bulma murmured, amazed.

"I'm not anymore." Vegeta growled, sounding annoyed.

"Baby." Bulma taunted, settling herself back on Vegeta's chest, her hands moving around to massage him again. "Now, what were we talking about?" Vegeta only shrugged, so Bulma just closed her eyes, concentrating on the Saiyan beside her.

"Mmm" Vegeta began purring again. In trying to stop the giggle threatening to escape her mouth, Bulma's hand slipped, her finger coming into contact with a tiny dip in Vegeta's back. Curiously, she pushed it gently with her fingertip.

Vegeta let out a tiny gasp as his eyes flew wide open and his whole body tensed with the effort of controlling himself. Bulma was right on top of him and Kami, he wasn't about to let her see, or feel, the effect she was having on him.

Bulma felt him tense, and she looked up to see Vegeta's strained face. "Oh no!" she gasped, pulling her hand away. "Did I hurt you? That's where your tail used to be isn't it?"

"No and yes." He replied, settling back down after darting a quick glance at his lower half, just to make sure he wasn't bulging. "Just don't ever do that again." Bulma nodded, and lay back down on the Saiyan no Ouji.

"I'm tired Vegeta." she yawned. "Goodnight." Closing her eyes, she snuggled against him, allowing sleep to take her willingly.

"Yeah, whatever." Vegeta replied, pulling the blanket tightly around them both, then bringing his arms above his head. There was no way he was going to fall asleep tonight. With his luck, he'd just end up having some sort of kinky sex dream and wake up aroused and clinging to Bulma. That would sure do it wouldn't it. He had already been overly kind to her tonight, and for what? So she could just go running back into the arms of that baka human and leave him all alone again? He sighed, wrapping his arms around her in complete surrender. "I had a nice tail." he murmured, letting himself fall asleep as well.

THE NEXT DAY

Bulma awoke alone on the couch, though she could still feel the warmth Vegeta's body had left behind. She sighed, curling up under the quilt. He had been really nice to her; he had actually gone out of his way to make her feel better. She smiled, remembering the feel of his warm, hard body. His skin had been much softer than she had expected; it was smooth and warm, offering an interesting contrast to both his personality and the rippling muscles lying just under the surface. "I wonder what time it is." She mumbled, turning around to look at the clock. 8:30. "Damn. I've gotta get up and go to work for 10." Sighing, she forced herself up off the couch and up the stairs, towards the bathroom for a nice hot shower.

'Well, I guess it feels like it would to lose any limb. It feels kind of like a part of me is missing. I guess I got used to it, but I still miss it.' Vegeta's words had been running through her head all day and she just could not shake the feeling of depression his voice had held. "Poor guy." she murmured. "I never really thought about it that way. I really wouldn't know what it's like to lose a limb, and nobody sympathizes with him at all because they think that it's just a tail." She tapped her pen idly on the wooded surface of her desk, deep in thought. "That's it!" she cried. "It's the perfect gift for him! I know he'll love it!" She quickly surveyed her desk, checking to make sure all her work was done for the day. "I'm going early Miss Phillips." she said into the intercom. "Have any important calls transferred to the lab office." She gathered her things quickly and threw on her coat. She couldn't wait to get started.

"Damn phone, stupid incessant ringing…" Vegeta grumbled, getting up to answer the phone. He had been working hard on Bulma's gift and was worried that he might not finish it in time. He only had a few more days to go and he had already decided that he would have to forfeit all his training time in order to work on it. "Moshi moshi."

"Hey Vegeta! It's meeee!" Came Bulma's cheery voice from the other end of the line. "I need you to come down to my lab ASAP. It won't take long, I only need you for a minute."

"Fine. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and looked down at himself, making sure his clothes were still clean. Satisfied with his appearance, he walked out the door and over to the building that contained Bulma's personal laboratory.

"Hey Vegeta! C'mere." Bulma called as he walked in. "I need to take a blood sample from you."

"You're lying." he said.

"Just get over here and gimme your arm!" Bulma cried, waving the needle about in the air. Vegeta held out his arm, allowing Bulma to jab it and draw a sample of his blood. "Okay! You can go now." As Vegeta turned to leave, Bulma noticed a speck of bright blue on one of his pant legs. 'Hmmm.' she wondered. 'How on Chikyuu would Vegeta get paint on himself?' With a shrug, she turned back to her work. "Ohhhh!" she squealed. "He's gonna love it!"

Meanwhile, Vegeta got back to working on Bulma's gift. He frowned in concentration, paying attention to even the tiniest detail. It had to be perfect. He would simply not accept anything less than absolute perfection in his work. It took him a few hours, but he finally got his goal for the day done. He would have to let it dry before he could do anything more. Looking at his watch, he decided to take a break for supper and maybe try and figure out what the woman was up to.

Supper had been rather uneventful. Bulma's mother had made some sort of casserole and salad or something like that. Vegeta hadn't been paying much attention to his food. He had been busy thinking as he scarfed down his enormous portion of dinner. Thinking back on it, Bulma had seemed rather preoccupied as well. Vegeta wondered what she had been thinking. 'It was probably about that baka human man of hers.' Vegeta growled at the thought of Yamucha. He did NOT like the man. Even before he had acknowledged his attraction to Bulma, he had disliked Yamucha. Something about him just didn't seem right to Vegeta. 'Why would a man need more than one mate?' This puzzled Vegeta to no end. Before Chikyuu, he had never come into contact with the concept of being with more than one woman at a time. He knew that not all species mated for life like Saiyans did, but never before had he heard of what the woman referred to as 'cheating' on a partner.

Vegeta looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 3:00 in the morning. 'Have I really been thinking about the Woman for this long?' he thought to himself. 'There has got to be something wrong with me. Never before have I thought about any female this long, not even during puberty.' Vegeta sighed to himself. He had not taken a mate when the time was right. He had completely ignored his wants and needs, sending himself into war with his own body. Those years of sexual frustration had taught him to suppress his bodily urges, allowing him to be in command of his physical self. However, there was one setback to this all.

Normally, a Saiyan would take a mate during puberty, which was usually between the ages of 15 to 18, but since he had not, he now found himself going through a sort of second puberty at the age of 28. His body had matured and he did not have to deal with crackling voices or new and strange hair growth, but his struggle was much worse. What he had to deal with were sexual frustrations of a teenager multiplied by 10. His body demanded that he take a mate and he often found it hard to control himself while in the presence of the blue haired beauty.

It was not as if he had to hold himself back from pushing her up against a wall and tearing off all of her clothes. It was the smaller, subtler things, like the other night when he had fought so hard to avoid letting his arousal be known to the woman. It was getting harder and more taxing to avoid smelling her hair, or touching her arm while they were talking. He had become obsessed with her in his own little way. It was not an unhealthy obsession though. It was not as if he spied on her while she was changing, or did anything to make her uncomfortable. He didn't steal her things just to smell her wonderful scent and he didn't snoop through her underwear drawer so he could see what she wore underneath her clothes.

His obsession was one of thought. She was often on his mind, whether he was training, eating, bathing, or the most torturous of all, sleeping. He would often wake up late at night drenched in sweat after a particularly graphic dream. He was also starting to lose their verbal sparring battles, as she would be yelling and his mind would wander into a daydream involving that luscious mouth of hers. This would break his concentration and he would snap out of his fantasy to find the woman glaring at him, waiting for a response to her insults. His usual reaction was to call her ugly or just threaten to blast her and then walk away.

"Good morning Vegeta!" Bulma cried, startling Vegeta awake. He shot straight up in his bed, the covers falling down to reveal a well sculpted torso, full of rippling muscles, leading down into a pair of royal blue pajama pants. 'Oh Kami! He's gorgeous!' Bulma's mind reeled at the sight, while Vegeta his time to properly wake up.

"Well, you slept a lot later than usual, and Mom made bacon and eggs for breakfast. I thought you might like some." she replied, eyeing him closely. "Vegeta, you don't look so good." she said, sounding very concerned.

"I'm fine."

"Why don't I bring you your breakfast. You can eat it here and then get some more rest. Please?"

"Whatever." he sighed. Bulma smiled and left to get him some food.

'It is kind of strange though. He didn't even try to argue, it's not like him to give in so easily. Come to think of it, he's been acting really odd around me lately. He hasn't been as sharp with his insults and he always looks like he's deep in thought. I wonder if he's sick, but he seems sad too. Maybe there's something I can do to cheer him up.' Bulma loaded a plate high with bacon, eggs, and toast and brought it up to the resident Saiyan.

Later that day, Vegeta was still in his room. Bulma thought he was resting, but he was actually putting the finishing touches on her gift. It hadn't taken him as long as he had expected because he didn't have to pretend he was training or something. Everyone thought he was sick in bed, exhausted from training. Bulma was keeping a close eye on him too. Every little once in a while, she would come knocking at his door to see how he was. Though he dreaded his own bodily reaction to the woman, he enjoyed seeing her and it made him feel better about his whole situation to at least know she cared.

"OH MY KAMI! IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!" Bulma shouted excitedly. She had just finished making a big dinner with the help of her mother and Chi-chi. Goku and Gohan were in the rec. room watching TV with Vegeta because Chi-chi wouldn't let them spar. Dr. Briefs was around somewhere, going back and forth between the females and males. "Dinner's ready!" Bulma called, instructing everyone to take a seat at the table.

As everyone ate, Bulma kept a close eye on Vegeta. His eating habits were regular, for him anyway, but he seemed a little distant. Normally, he would be arguing with Goku, or insulting her cooking by now. He merely sat and ate his food though, letting out an occasional grunt in response to any questions or comments directed at him.

After supper, everyone retired to the living room, where they all sat around the fireplace, marveling at the beauty of the Christmas tree. All except Vegeta that is. He just left when nobody was looking, and apparently he was keeping his ki down because Goku claimed that he couldn't sense the older Saiyan anywhere. Bulma suggested that they just leave him be for awhile, and let him come in when he was good and ready to. The others agreed.

"Come on Vegeta! Wake up!" Goku whined, while bouncing around Vegeta's bed in his pajamas like a child. "It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" he cried.

"Don't you remember? Me and Chi-chi and Gohan stayed over night so we wouldn't have to come all the way back in the morning!" Grumbling, Vegeta pushed back his covers and rolled out of bed, revealing a pair of shiny black silk pants. "Hey Vegeta!" Goku smirked. "Nice pants."

"Okay, so you're not a morning person." Goku laughed.

"I'm not a Kakarott person!" Vegeta growled in response. Goku lead the way downstairs, where most of the gang was gathered in the kitchen, even Yamucha was there having agreed to be on friendly terms with Bulma. "What's going on?" Vegeta grumbled.

"Why Vegeta-chan! I'm so glad you're up!" squealed Mrs. Briefs. "We're just waiting for Tien and Choutzu to show up so we can all open presents together!" Vegeta growled at the way she called him 'Vegeta-chan.' He did not like the familiar tone in which she talked to him.

Meanwhile, Bulma was chewing on her delicate bottom lip, trying to think of anything BUT Vegeta. 'Oh Damnit! Why did I ever buy him those pants?!? They look sooo good on him and he's just sooo hot and Damnit! It's only 9:00 in the morning and I'm already thinking about his body again!' Vegeta smirked, he could sense Bulma staring at him, though she was trying to be inconspicuous about it. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to make her his after all.

Just then, Tien and Choutzu walked in the door, shouting holiday greetings to everyone. "All right!" Gohan shouted. "It's present time!" Everybody ran into the living room and sat around the tree, except for Vegeta and Piccolo, who made sure to distance themselves from the group a little.

Everybody took turns while opening gifts, so everyone could see who got what. It was Bulma's turn to hand out her gifts, and she did so with great enthusiasm, hopping about the room in her pajamas like a child. First Gohan opened his, then Goku, then Chi-chi, Piccolo, Tien, Yamucha, Choutzu, and Krillin. Finally, it was Vegeta's turn and Bulma could barely contain her excitement. She handed Vegeta a small rectangular present. He tore off the paper to find a small wooden box. Inside the box was a tiny vial of cloudy, greenish liquid.

"What is it?" Vegeta asked, looking up to see a slightly bouncy Bulma, staring at him as he unwrapped his gift.

"It's a special formula. Drink it!" she giggled, a huge smile on her face.

"I know you miss your tail, so I made this. It'll make it grow back real fast." Everyone sat, very silent, too stunned to speak.

"WHAT?" Piccolo yelled, making Bulma jump 3 feet in the air. "How could you do such a stupid thing?" Bulma turned away and started to sniffle. Both Goku and Vegeta knew she would break any minute.

"Hey, calm down Piccolo!" Goku said, putting a hand on the Namekian's shoulder. Piccolo growled, but sat down at Goku's insistence.

"You do realize," Vegeta began very slowly, "that I don't need the moon to transform right?" Bulma nodded. "I can still use the same ki technique I used the first time I came here." Bulma nodded again. "I'm giving you one chance to take this back woman." Vegeta said quietly, holding the vial towards her.

Bulma shook her head and backed away from his outstretched hand. "I…I trust you Vegeta." she sniffled. Everyone was quiet, their eyes on the Saiyan no Ouji, waiting for his response.

Vegeta nodded, closing his large fist around the vial and brining it back towards himself. "Thank you." he said quietly, then stood up and walked out of the room. All eyes followed him as he moved up the stairs towards his room, the entire group amazed at what had just taken place.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to open a gift." Mrs. Briefs said cheerfully, trying to break the silence. Everyone murmured their agreement, except for Bulma, who was too preoccupied with thoughts of Vegeta.

The rest of the gifts were given out without a problem, until they came to the packages from Vegeta. Bulma handed them out one by one while everyone opened their own. When it was Goku's turn to open his, he tore off the brightly colored paper and cried out with excitement, holding up a singing plastic fish. Everyone laughed, as Goku told them what it was about, omitting the part about lingerie, Chi-chi frowned though.

"Okay Bulma! Your turn!" Gohan cried out, holding the stuffed monkey Vegeta had given him.

"Well…I…There isn't one for me." Bulma replied, on the verge of tears. She didn't mind that she didn't get a present, after all, it Christmas wasn't about gifts. She was upset that Vegeta didn't even care enough to bother, even after he had been so nice to her the other night. She was upset because she was starting to feel very attracted to the Saiyan and he didn't even care about her enough to get her a lousy gift. "Well," she said, trying to disguise her shaky voice, "I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed, then I'll be back down in time for breakfast." Hastily, she made her retreat up the stairs and into the bathroom, desperately trying to hold back the tiny sobs that seemed so intent on escaping her mouth.

Vegeta stood in his room, carefully wrapping Bulma's gift. He had decided that he didn't want to give it to her while those bakas were around. He had a reputation to keep after all. Stepping out of his room, gift in hand, he heard the shower running, and knew instinctively that it was Bulma in there. 'Good.' he thought. 'I can just leave this in her room and save myself some embarrassment.' Quietly, he tiptoed into her room and set the wrapped gift carefully on the large four poster bed. Taking a quick look around, he opened the glass doors that lead onto her balcony and flew off, having already changed out of his pajamas.

Bulma stepped out of the shower, wrapping a big fluffy towel around herself. "Stupid Vegeta!" she muttered, her earlier sadness having turned to anger. "Thinks he's too good to get me a gift! Well, I'll show that BAKA just how great I can be. By dinner time, he'll be wanting me so bad he can't hold himself back!" she growled while rubbing her hair vigorously with a new towel. Wrapping her robe about her shapely body, she stepped out of the steamy bathroom, heading to her own room to get dressed.

Slamming the door behind her, she stalked over to her closet to pick an outfit. "Gotta find something sexy…Hmmm…I wonder what a Saiyan would find sexy?" She frowned as a mental image of herself in a battle armour bikini popped up in her mind. "Well, he's just gonna have to put up with MY kinda sexy!" She began pulling out various items of clothing and tossing the rejects in a pile on her bed, completely covering the unnoticed package.

Bulma stepped back to admire herself. "Man am I gorgeous or what?" she cried out to her reflection. The slinky little red dress fit her perfectly, hugging all her womanly curves and emphasizing the length of her smooth, silky legs. The top had thin little spaghetti straps that crisscrossed over her back and the neckline plunged almost to the point of indecency, but managed to pull of an 'I'm classy but I won't hesitate to show off my gorgeous bod' look.

Her shiny blue hair was piled in tiny ringlets atop her head, a few springy curls left down to dangle around her nearly bare shoulders. She had put on a touch of frosty lipstick and a dab of pale pink eye shadow over a thin line of shimmery eyeliner. Finally, a pair of dangling diamond earrings, a matching necklace, and a pair of red dressy platform sandals completed the outfit. Giggling, she did a little pirouette for her reflection, and almost fell over upon seeing the enormous pile of clothing that buried her bed.

"Oh man! I don't have time to clean up all these clothes right now!" she groaned. "I guess I'll just have to do it later!" She giggled, flouncing out of the room and down the stairs.

"Whoa Bulma!" Krillin laughed. "Lookin' good!" Bulma smiled, and did a little curtsey. All Yamucha could do was stare as Bulma twirled about the room.

"So this is where we're supposed to fight those stupid tin cans eh?" Vegeta murmured to himself, touching down on the snowy ground. "It's kinda pretty. Too bad we'll have to trash it." he snickered. Vegeta wandered around for a bit, exploring the island. He was bored and he figured that he might as well find something constructive to do. Looking around, he spied a small cave with his keen Saiyan eyesight and flew up towards it.

"Brrr." he mumbled, stepping inside. He stepped outside and gathered some wood from the trees nearby, then carried them back to the cave. He piled all of his wood up in the center of the cave and shot a tiny ki blast at it. The wood quickly ignited, and Vegeta sat down to warm himself up.

Sighing, he pulled the tiny glass vial out of his pocket. Turning it slowly over in his hands, he wondered why Bulma had been so kind. He was never nice to her, except for the exception of that one night, and he surely hadn't done anything special to deserve this. He had no idea why she trusted him, he didn't even trust himself, much less anybody else. "Ahhh, Bulma. Why are you always on my mind?" he sighed, laying back on the ground, turning the question over in his head.

"Come on guys! It's a Wonderful Life is on!" Yamucha shouted, diving onto the living room couch, remote in hand. Everyone crammed onto the couches quickly, and when Bulma walked in there was only one spot left. It was right next to Yamucha, so close she would be practically sitting on him. 'Damn! I can't even ask someone else to move without offending him!' she thought angrily. Grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself, she plopped down onto the couch, making sure to lean a little bit more towards Krillin than Yamucha.

Flipping back onto his belly, Vegeta stared at the tiny tube of green liquid. "How in hell does she even know that I won't go Oozaru and finally blow up this ridiculous ball of crap she calls home?"

"Does anybody know where Vegeta is?" Bulma asked as a commercial break cut into the movie. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

"Why do you care so much about Vegeta all of a sudden?" Yamucha asked, a tone of bitterness seeping into his voice.

"Excuse me? What crawled up your ass this morning?" Bulma cried, jumping off the couch. "I just think that maybe since its Christmas, he might like to spend some time with PEOPLE!" she yelled.

"If he wanted to be here, he would be here!" Yamucha shouted back.

"Well it's not like you guys made any effort to make him feel welcome or anything! Kami! Give the guy a break!" Bulma cried, stalking out of the room and up the stairs.

Carefully, Vegeta popped out the little stopper and sniffed the liquid inside.

"Vegeta?" Bulma called, pounding on his door. "Where the hell have you been?" She pushed open the door to see an empty room. "Damnit! Where did he go?" she wailed.

Vegeta took a deep breath, raising the tiny vial to his lips.

Bulma slammed the door to her room, flinging herself into a chair near her bed. "Why do I care anyway? It's not like he's nice to me or anything. He didn't even get me a present and then he takes off to Kami knows where! Damn that man! He knew how much this meant to me!" It didn't feel like Christmas. Bulma was miserable, and she had never been miserable on Christmas before, she didn't even know it was possible.

Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, she sighed. "Well, it looks like I'm not going to have any fun today, so I may as well start cleaning up this mess." She pulled herself out of the chair, and began tossing clothes back into her closet.

"Ughh! That tastes terrible!" Vegeta cried, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Leave it to Bulma to make everything taste like crap…Huh? Ow! What the hell?" Vegeta cried out as a series of painful little tingles engulfed his body, centering on the tiny dip at the base of his spine.

"Huh? What's this?" Bulma murmured, picking up a tiny package, wrapped in bright Christmas paper. She gasped softly as she spied the name on the little gift tag. "To Bulma. From Vegeta." she read it aloud, tracing the neat writing with her fingertip. Unable to wait any longer, she tore excitedly into the wrapping paper.

"Ahhhh!!!!" Vegeta cried out in pain as he felt his brand new tail rip through the skin over his tailbone. The new appendage wriggled about in the air, the poor Saiyan panting in relief as the pain subsided. He stood up shakily, grabbing out at the cave walls for support. It would take a little while to get his balance back.

Reaching a hand out, he grabbed his tail, grimacing at the sticky, slick feel of it. It would have to be cleaned before he showed Bulma. Sitting back down on the floor, he proceeded to rip a large square of fabric from his pant leg. After his tail had gone through them, they were ruined anyway.

"I can't believe this!" Bulma gasped, looking in awe at the gift before her. "its so beautiful." she breathed, running her fingers ever so lightly over the surface of the paint.

Vegeta smirked, his now dry tail waving about in the air behind him. It wasn't totally clean yet, but a quick shower would fix that. He stepped outside into the cold and took off, erecting a bright ki shield to keep himself warm.

"Are you coming down Bulma?" Mrs. Briefs called. "It's almost dinner time!"

"Hai! I'll be right out!" she called back. Bulma turned her attention back to the painting before her. She smiled, tracing the outlines of the continents with her finger, naming them as she went. "Asia, North America, South America, Europe…" She trailed off as she noticed something small in the bottom right hand corner. Leaning over to read it, she almost fainted. There, in very neat writing, was Vegeta's signature, both in Japanese characters and Saiyan script, of which she had learned a small amount from Radditz's old scouter. "So you got me a present after all Vegeta. And all this time I thought you hated Chikyuu." Letting a tiny giggle escape from her mouth, she set the painting down and flounced out of her room and down the stairs.

Vegeta touched down on the balcony of his room just after Bulma walked past the open doorway. He quickly let himself in and grabbed some fresh clothing on the way to the shower.

Christmas dinner went wonderfully, everyone was pleasant and no one spoke of the earlier incident between Yamucha and Bulma. Vegeta had still not come down, having decided that he wanted nothing to do with Bulma's baka friends, but his stomach finally got the best of him. He walked casually into the dining room, dressed in a pair of black pants and a royal blue silk shirt, the top two buttons left open. His new tail was coiled neatly around his waist.

Bulma almost fell out of her chair at the sight of him, almost. "Glad you decided to join us Vegeta." she said, smiling at him. Vegeta smirked at her, a devilish smirk that exposed his perfect white teeth. She shivered with raw delight as she caught a glimpse of his overdeveloped canines, a trait shared by all Saiyans. It was absolutely THE most handsome smirk she had ever seen.

Vegeta took his seat, reaching for some food as he tried to avoid staring at Bulma's chest. That could all be done later, if everything worked out.

"Bye everybody! Merry Christmas! Good luck training!" Bulma called out the door to the backs of her departing friends. It was almost midnight and everyone was heading home. Bulma's parents had excused themselves, heading up to bed. "G'night guys!"

Bulma closed the door and headed into the living room, plopping on the cough beside the Saiyan no Ouji. "So Vegeta. How do you like you tail?" she asked, suddenly feeling nervous as a schoolgirl on her first date.

"It's nice. Not as nice as the original, but good enough." he mumbled. Bulma smiled and snuggled closer to him. She knew that was his way of saying he liked it a lot.

"Well, I love my present. Thank you Vegeta." She leaned to rest her head on his shoulder, and to her surprise, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Merry Christmas Vegeta."

"Whatever." he mumbled back.

The pair sat in silence for the longest time, just enjoying the closeness and warmth of each other. They watched the flames dance and crackle in the fireplace, while fluffy white snowflakes fell outside. Surprisingly, it was Vegeta who finally broke the silence.

"Nani?" she yawned, turning her head to look up at him. Vegeta however, would not meet her gaze, he continued to stare into the depths of the fire.

"You do?" Bulma squeaked. She was wide awake now.

"Uh…Okay." she murmured, her cheeks turning a bright red.

"I just figured I should tell you before I did anything." he said. "I…You don't have to let me."

"No…I want to." She turned her head away, embarrassed. Vegeta placed a finger under her chin, turning her face towards his own. Bulma tilted her head as Vegeta leaned down, their lips meeting ever so slightly.

Vegeta pulled away, giving Bulma a chance to stop, but when she showed no signs of running, he kissed her again, this time more passionately. Bulma whimpered, pressing herself against him as he deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth. His arms came to wrap tightly around her waist as she brought her arms up to rest around his neck. Vegeta's tail snaked up to her breasts, brushing gently against them before moving down to wrap around her thigh, pulling her into his lap. One of his hands moved up and grasped the zipper on the back of her dress and began to pull it down.

"Vegeta wait!" Bulma moaned. "We shouldn't do this!" Vegeta pulled away from her, confusion and hurt in his eyes. She smirked and leaned forward, pressing herself into his bulging hardness. "I meant, we shouldn't do this here." she whispered seductively into his ear. "Let's go somewhere more private hmmm?" Vegeta smirked, picking her up and carrying her up the stairs so he could finally claim her as his mate.