Bulma and ChiChi entered at club and was greeted by thumping bass, multicolored lights and tons of hot guys.
    "Ooh!" Bulma gushed. "Jackpot." They went up to the bar and got drinks and soon some cute guys made their way over.
    "Would any of you fine ladies like to dance?" Bulma nodded and he grabbed her hand and they went off to the dance floor.

Three hours later..

    ChiChi had never danced so much in such a short amount of time. Her legs were getting tired. She wondered if she should have another drink but decided against it when Bulma downed her fifth. 'I guess I'm designated driver tonight.' She said with a brief smile. She was happy that she and Bulma were having such a good time, they hadn't been out in a good while, but she was getting tired so she headed out to the dance floor to find Bulma. She found her dancing with the same cute guy and asked her if she was ready to go.
    "Yeah sure, you tired?" ChiChi nodded, Bulma was trashed, and it was so obvious.
    "Yes, it's time to go, I'm driving so give me the keys." Bulma merely nodded and
handed them over.
    "Bye bye cutie." She said to the man she had danced with all night.
    "Can I call you sometime?" he asked sincerely, Bulma smiled and handed him a business card.
    "Sure sugar! Anytime." And then she turned to leave.

At CC...
    Vegeta had fallen asleep on the couch but woke immediately as Bulma and ChiChi walked in. He smelled alcohol right away and wrinkled his nose. He quietly rose to his feet, neither Bulma nor ChiChi noticed. Bulma was unsteady on her feet and ChiChi was supporting her.
    "Come sit down, you need to drink some water before you go to bed." Bulma plopped down on the couch Vegeta had been sleeping on as ChiChi went to the kitchen.
    "It's warm." Bulma slurred, indicating the couch. Vegeta took the opportunity to sit down next to her. She shrieked at his sudden appearance.
    "Calm down you lush." Vegeta said laughing. ChiChi walked back in and scowled at Vegeta. she handed the glass to Bulma.
"I'm going home now Bulma. I had fun, we have to do this again soon."
"Damn right." Bulma grinned and slowly sipped at the water. After all the alcohol she drank, plain water tasted nasty.  As soon as ChiChi left, Vegeta spoke.
"Drunk are we?" he had a wide grin on his face.
"So what of it? I had fun, something I bet you never have." She snapped. She didn't feel like fighting with Vegeta. He didn't answer; he just stared at her curiously. She looked rather attractive in her skimpy dress.
"Just drink your water and go to bed. I need to sleep and you’re in my spot." He said. Bulma was too drunk to notice the way he stared at her or the fact that he hadn't yelled at her yet.
"Make me." Vegeta sighed, if she wasn't going to move, well.. He lay down and put his legs up on her lap.
"Your choice." He said with a yawn. 'Damn' Bulma thought 'he's heavy.' She did an experimental karate chop on his kneecap in hopes that he would move. Nothing happened.
"Okay Vegeta, I'll move, just get off me so I can."
"Make me." He said mockingly. She sighed, she didn't have time for this, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She tried a different approach. She poked his side, just to the left of his spine and below his ribs and he squeaked in alarm, his back arched. He rolled off the couch onto the floor. Bulma burst into laughter.
"Your ticklish!" she jumped down on him and began to poke the same spot, laughing evilly as he writhed underneath her.
"Stop!" he cried and bolted out from under her, gasping. “I.. am.. NOT!! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE AND GO TO BED!!" Bulma smiled politely and obliged.
"Hee hee. Veggie's ticklish, Veggie's ticklish!!" she sang all the way to her room. Vegeta snarled and threw himself onto the couch.
"Damn baka." 'I hope she doesn't remember that tomorrow.'

Part Two: Pain
Two weeks later...

Vegeta opened his eyes. He lay half-naked on the floor of his room on top of a pile of blankets and couch cushions. The sun streaming through the windows hurt his eyes and he could not shake the feeling of overwhelming exhaustion that was forcing his eyelids shut. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was sore all over from training under 300 G's, he still wasn't used to it yet and he'd been training under it for three days now.
He didn't want to get up, really. For some strange reason, Vegeta wanted to lie there all day. But he knew he'd have to get up eventually and he knew he had to train. He had to become a Super Saiyan; he would not rest until he did. He had to beat Kakarotto!
With that thought in mind, Vegeta got up and dressed and headed to the Capsule Corp. kitchen to get breakfast.

Bulma searched the refrigerator for some yogurt, cursing silently when she couldn't find any. She slammed the door shut, turned, and saw Vegeta standing there with a smug grin on his face.
"What are you smiling about?" she snapped, before he could answer a thought occurred to her. "It was YOU who ate my yogurt, wasn't it?" Vegeta made a disgusted face.
"God, no!" he said. "That crap makes me want to vomit!" Bulma smiled unkindly.
"Thanks for sharing." She turned and stalked out.
"Bitch." Vegeta muttered. Now he was pissed. How dare she accuse me of eating that vile garbage? And furthermore, why is she being so bitchy? I haven't teased or insulted her yet today, so what's her problem? Vegeta wondered. He shrugged it off and gobbled down half the contents of the refrigerator.

The gravity room was set at 310. Vegeta was doing sit-ups and was around 900 when he felt a burning pain in his abdomen.
"Ah." He muttered. He stopped his workout for a moment to analyze the feeling, but as soon as he stopped, the feeling went away. He had done about fifty more sit-ups when the pain came back, more intense. Vegeta stopped again, a groan escaping his lips. He cursed himself for being weak and ignored the pain. But by the time he had finished his set, he was in agony. The pain had spread up to his chest and was making breathing difficult, what the hell is wrong with me? Vegeta wondered. He staggered to his feet and made his way to the control panel to turn the gravity off. Maybe I just need a break...
The gravity returned to normal and Vegeta sank to his knees, panting in exhaustion. He crawled to the door, pushed a button, and watched as it slid open. He sat just outside the door, head down, elbows on his knees. The pain was still there and growing stronger by the minute.

Bulma sat outside doing some calculations in her notebook when she saw Vegeta crawl out of the gravity room. She thought it very odd to see the proud Saiyan actually crawling and knew something was up. She put her pen and notebook down, got up, and headed over to the Saiyan almost instantly noticing his white complexion.
"Ooh, he looks bad." She commented, she picked up her pace and was at his side in seconds.

"Vegeta, are you okay?" a voice said. Vegeta took a deep breath and looked up, squinting in the harsh sunlight.
"Yes." He mumbled. His strength was rapidly dwindling, and Vegeta wondered briefly if he was dying. Bulma stared down at him. His eyes were unfocused and his lips were white. Sweat ran down his face, yet he seemed to be shaking as if he was cold. He grimaced suddenly and lowered his head.
"No, your not." Said Bulma. She grabbed his arm. "Come on," she tugged his arm with all her might, but he barely moved. "Come on, Vegeta, get up!" she pleaded. He really looked sick, and she had to get him inside before he passed out or worse. He slowly raised his head to look at her, and then nodded once. He used her to pull himself up, he was sluggish and disoriented. "What happened?" Bulma gently asked, putting his arm over her shoulders for support. He didn't answer, he merely shrugged. Bulma was definitely worried. His pride would never allow this, he must be really hurt. Bulma thought.
Once they got to Bulma's room, a mind-numbing wave of pain hit. Vegeta cursed aloud and sank to his knees.
"Oh my God!" Bulma gasped. She ran into her bathroom and came out seconds later with a large case. She also picked up a remote and hit a few buttons. Several beeping noises were heard and three small robots came into view. Vegeta was still on his knees, he felt Bulma's arms encircle his chest as the small human female tried to make him stand. He wrapped his arms around her and for a moment, just held on, his face buried in her shoulder. Bulma stiffened for an instant, but then hugged him back. Poor Vegeta. She was still surprised, but a part of her very much enjoyed the affection, if it could be called that. She had caught Vegeta staring at her pretty often though, of course he has, silly, who can resist a hot babe like you? she thought with a tiny smile. She heard him sigh softly, and he pulled himself up, again using her for support.
She helped him to her bed and he flopped onto it with a thud; instantly curling up, his arms and knees pulled to his chest. Bulma pulled his shirt, boots, and gloves off before sitting down next to him.
"How do you feel?" she asked. Vegeta panted lightly, as if he had just run for miles. But that wouldn't even bother him.. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared at her for a moment, his eyes focused at last. Bulma could clearly see the pain in them, she felt her heart tighten.
"Wonderful." He whispered. His face was dead white. She checked his pulse, it was racing. Bulma wasn't quite sure what to do. Vegeta closed his eyes and was panting harder. He grimaced again, biting his lip and clenching his fists. Her tiny robots had come back with an assortment of medical equipment.
"Tell me the truth, you're obviously in pain." She said as she poked and prodded with her little instruments. Vegeta tried to shake his head but all he could manage was a resigned sigh. He was furious, why is this happening? What had he done to cause it? The pain was getting so bad he couldn't even talk anymore. "Well, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital, there's nothing I can do." Alarms went off in Vegeta's head. He sat up and instantly regretted it. "No! No! You can't go!" Bulma cried, panic in her voice. Vegeta immediately got so dizzy, the room was spinning and he thought for a second he might vomit. He fell back with a soft, anguished cry. His eyes clenched shut and his hands flew up to cover his face.
"No.. Please, no..." he moaned. Bulma bit her lip in agony; she had no choice but to go against his wishes. She knew better then to do so, but it was clearly out of her hands. He was obviously in pain, and the sight made her heart ache, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn't let him suffer like this, even if he was a jerk to her sometimes.
"I have no choice." She sighed. "I know you don't want to go, but.. What if you're really sick, I don't want you to die." Bulma stopped and thought. It was true. She didn't want Vegeta to die. Vegeta opened his eyes and gazed at her. Bulma swallowed nervously, the way he was staring... "You'll be okay," she said, smiling. "I'll stay with you." He frowned at her looking very much like a pouting child. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Vegeta set the passenger seat all the way back, and tried to sleep, but the pain was too intense. His whole body hurt now, but the worst was his chest and stomach. He could barely get in a normal breath; his throat was tight and dry as if he'd swallowed a mouthful of sand. And the motion of the car made him want to retch. Bulma glanced at him nervously every few minutes just to make sure he was still alive. He didn't look good to her. His face was so white now, that you could see the larger veins underneath the skin. His eyes were clenched shut as were his teeth and his mouth was set in a tiny scowl. Sweat ran down his face and he was lying in an awkward position, he seemed double-jointed to her, his knees were almost in her side and his chest and face were pressed to the seat. He clutched the back of the car seat as if he was going to be thrown out of the car. She noticed every tiny squeak of pain that he unconsciously made, it seemed like hours had passed before they made it to the Western City Hospital.
As Bulma gave all the information she could at the check-in desk, Vegeta sank down into a chair and tried to get comfortable enough to sleep, but it was hopeless. But he knew he was seconds away from passing out into oblivion. So it doesn't really matter if I'm comfortable, I guess. He mused. He was oblivious to what was going on. He was almost out when Bulma sat down. He was startled awake when he felt her hand on his forehead.
"Sorry." She said, blushing, when he jumped at her touch. One obsidian eye peered at her and then closed, then he shifted a bit and rested his head on Bulma's shoulder. Aww. . Bulma thought to herself, how cute. Wait! What am I thinking?! He's just using me as a pillow! But she didn't shake him off or try to move him, instead she put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a small squeeze, maybe he'll feel better, if he knows SOMEONE cares at least. Apparently it worked because she heard Vegeta let out a tiny sigh. She smiled to herself.
"Bulma Briefs." The nurse at the desk called. Bulma shook Vegeta.
"Come one Vegeta, get up." she said, "It's your turn."
"No.." he groaned, his voice sounded even weaker than before and he grunted as a more intense pain hit. He doubled over and made a strangled choking noise. Then Bulma screamed when blood doused the floor and her shoes.
"Oh my God!" she cried. She knelt down and gazed into his pain-stricken face. His eyes were squeezed shut, his skin was white and dark circles were under his eyes. Sweat poured down his face and his teeth were clenched to keep from crying out. Bulma hear the sounds of running feet and someone was pulling her away from Vegeta. "No!" she cried, "I have to stay with him!"

Part Three: something unexpected

Bulma checked her watch. It was 4:39 p.m.. Bulma had been in the waiting room for two hours and there was still no news about Vegeta. The last time she'd seen him he was vomiting blood. She'd never seen anything so awful, she'd cried hysterically when they took him away, and now she didn't know why.
True, she didn't want him to die, but why not? When he first came to Earth all he wanted was to get the Dragonballs and then wish for immortality so he could defeat Frieza and rule the universe. He'd killed so many to try and grant that wish, he almost killed Goku, Krillin, and Gohan. But he failed, and after he was killed by Frieza and resurrected, he was brought to earth. That was when they first actually met.
She'd seen him on Namek before, but had been scared out of her wits at the time. But then, once on Earth, she actually talked to him once or twice and that was when the verbal sparring began.
It seemed as if every chance he got to insult her, he took. She remembered times when he'd said such rude and cruel things to her that she could do nothing but cry. But never in front of him, of course. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears.
But there were other times when she could feel his eyes on her. At first when she'd caught him, he looked away, but lately he kept staring until it was Bulma who turned away blushing. At first she ignored it, but as she began to catch his gaze more and more she'd noticed something familiar. Was it... desire? She pondered for a moment and was stunned with her conclusion. Yes, definitely, I've seen that look too often to mistake it. She remembered when she'd brought him to her room, when he hugged her it was almost...affectionate. But he was also in pain and.. Bulma sighed in frustration, she wasn't really sure, but then again, part of her was absolutely sure that he wanted her.   She had to admit though, he was rather handsome, and that body!  Woo! Bulma felt a blush creep across her face as she thought about him.
She was disrupted from her thoughts by a young nurse.
"The doctor will see you now." Bulma leapt to her feet.

"He is very lucky."
"What happened?" the Doctor before her wore a stern expression, Bulma swallowed nervously.
"He reached a breaking point." Bulma was confused, she'd explained to the doctors that Vegeta is Saiyan like Son Goku, so what he meant was...
"He trained too hard and his body couldn't take the stress, is that what your saying?" the doctor nodded and tapped his nose. "So his body broke down to the point were he could barely move to stop him from destroying himself?"
"Exactly, and if you hadn't found him or he'd continued his training, well, he'd most likely be seriously injured. Possibly dead." Bulma was stunned. She'd thought Saiyans were invulnerable to things like this, apparently she was wrong.
"Whatever caused this was not only physical stress but mental. Any mental stress he may have, I don't suppose you'd know?"
"No." Bulma said softly, how the hell would she know? The only time he talked to her was to insult her. But something was still not adding up.
"But why was he bleeding?" she asked.
"Internal tears, as I said, too much stress, even for a Saiyan. His immune system seems to be weakened, but why, we haven't been able to tell yet for sure, we believe it's slowed his healing abilities enough for this to happen. But you mentioned that you've never seen Goku sick."
"Yes, never once, not even a cold." She replied.
"Well, we ran some tests and it seems that your friend has encountered some type of weakening agent, perhaps a virus of some sort, which was able to lower his white blood cell count and that we believe has caused the healing rate to slow significantly. We're not one hundred percent positive yet, but we're pretty sure."
"How is he?" she asked. The doctor smiled sympathetically.
"He should be fine in a few days, maybe a week or more I'd say. We would like to keep him overnight if that is possible, to run some more tests."
"I have to stay with him.. I promised him I would."

Vegeta slept quietly. An IV was in his hand and his face was still ghostly. Bulma smiled at the sight of him snoozing. She'd never seen him sleep before, she previously wasn't sure if he even did. But now, as she guarded his slumber, she couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he wasn't scowling. In fact, he looked rather... peaceful. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Ever since she'd caught Yamcha cheating on her, Bulma had felt truly lonely. He still hadn't come to her to explain or apologize or anything! She'd never felt the emptiness so strongly before. She'd always had someone, usually Goku, to comfort her. But now even he was gone. And if he was coming back, he was sure taking his sweet time about it.
But she'd also noticed something else. Vegeta was always alone. He never talked to anyone except herself. She wondered if insults counted as communication for Saiyans. She wasn't positive, but she felt that it was. Maybe he DOES like me... Or maybe I'm just going insane and am totally desperate. But if I'm the only one he's attempted to communicate with... maybe it's not so crazy. Bulma frowned; she didn't know what to think. She sat there pondering until she fell asleep.

Vegeta opened his eyes. Strange smells assaulted him as he stared at white ceiling tiles. With a gasp, he bolted upright, and instantly regretted it as a wave of dizziness hit him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply until it subsided, then turned and saw Bulma asleep in the chair next to his bed. His eyes widened, and for a moment he was too stunned to move. She really stayed with me... he was amazed. The flood of panic that was ready to pounce on him receded into a dark corner of his brain. Vegeta stared at Bulma in awe. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes upon; he had to admit, if only to himself. But with that admittance also came the knowledge of something so horrifying, he gasped. A fate that he was always sure he'd be able to escape.
As soon as he realized that he was.. Dare he think it? Bonded to this human female, he began to accept it. There was something about the girl before him that made him realize it was useless to fight it. He'd pout a little, but that was all. If he denied this of himself... he shuddered at the thought. He'd seen Saiyans before who'd lost a mate or some such thing, and the result was almost always devastating. The Saiyan in question was never the same afterwards. Most went on suicide missions, some just allowed themselves to be killed in battle, and the few truly desperate, collected all their ki and didn't release it, which resulted in a shocking explosion and death. The rest who couldn't end their own life were mere shadows of their former selves, walking through life as if in a dream.
He wouldn't accept that. It seemed to him a sign of failure, but now...he knew if he couldn't have this girl, he wouldn't die literally, but inside he would be crushed, and sometimes that's enough. He knew that making her his mate would be a challenge, he grinned at the thought.
Bulma felt eyes on her and woke almost instantly. She took one look into Vegeta's jet black eyes and all her thoughts and suspicions from the night before came back to her. She knew then that all her assumptions were correct. He wanted her more than any creature on the planet. She saw it in his eyes. She felt warm inside and something told her that it was too perfect to be a coincidence, this is the way things had to be, and in a way, the Dragonballs had brought someone to her. He'd been brought back to life and to Earth by them, hadn't he?
"Your awake." Bulma said smiling. Vegeta nodded once, never taking his eyes off her. "How do you feel?" he shrugged, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he felt like ripping her clothes off right then and there, he wasn't sure if she'd react how he wanted. So he studied her. "Does anything hurt?" she prodded. He thought for a second and discovered he was, in fact, fine. He felt better than yesterday; better than he had for a while, in fact.
"I didn't think you'd stay." Was all he said. Bulma blushed a little.
"I was worried."
"Why?" he asked. She looked confused for a second.
"I thought you might die."
"Wouldn't you be glad if I did?" Vegeta asked, he figured everyone would be.
"No. Why would you say that?" Bulma felt slightly embarrassed, she didn't think that everyone came off like they hated him, and she'd never heard anyone say as much.
"It's just a question, I'm curious."
"Well I don't hate you and I don't want you to die, okay?" Vegeta nodded. "Why all these questions Vegeta? I didn't think you cared." At that Vegeta finally looked away and Bulma felt as if she'd just said something she shouldn't.
"I do. Sometimes. I guess it all depends who hates me." He looked at her again and she got that feeling again, and she knew she wanted him too.
"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" Bulma asked, a sly smile on her face. Vegeta's eyes widened and he tried to look innocent. Bulma burst out laughing at the expression on his face, she'd never seen him look so... cute! He blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, "I've never seen a look like that on your face, it was too cute." She blurted out. Vegeta tried so hard to hide his smile, but Bulma saw it and giggled. "Oh, my," she teased, "you can smile too? I'd never imagined." At that Vegeta was totally embarrassed and hid his face behind his pillow, trying to stifle his laughter. "Oh! Don't do that!" Bulma cried, ripping the pillow out of his arms. Vegeta popped back up and tried to snatch the pillow back; Bulma could see him biting his lip to keep from grinning. She leaned forward and put the pillow behind her, then leaned back. “Come and get it." She teased, a seductive smile on her face. The corner of Vegeta's mouth twitched. He leaned forward... and Bulma kissed him full on the lips. Vegeta was so surprised he fell out of bed, and onto Bulma knocking the chair over.
Bulma hit the back of her head but couldn't even reach up to feel it before Vegeta's lips were on hers, kissing her passionately. Ha! She thought triumphantly, I knew I was right!! They were like that for about ten minutes when Vegeta suddenly tensed and crept up, peeking over the top of the bed.
"Oh! There you are! I thought I was in the wrong room." It was the Doctor! Bulma gasped and sat up. "Did you fall out of bed? Oops! Looks like the IV came out too." She looked and saw blood running down Vegeta's arm. Oops is right. Bulma thought.

The doctor was amazed at Vegeta's current state. He seemed perfectly fine, but he still wanted to run tests to make sure there was no more internal bleeding. Vegeta looked extremely disappointed. Bulma smiled at his agitation, he wanted to continue "exploring" the new development in their relationship. Bulma couldn't blame him, she was just as eager. She was ushered into the waiting room again and as Vegeta was hauled off he glanced back at Bulma with a look of longing in his eyes.
"Don't worry!" she called. "I'll still be here when you get back!"

Bulma was in the waiting room for over an hour when she suddenly heard pounding feet and soon saw Vegeta running towards her with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh Kami!" she cried as she was snatched up in his arms. Seconds later they were out of the building and in the air. "My car!" Bulma screeched over the roar of the wind.
"Fuck it!" Vegeta yelled back. And he swiftly descended at the Capsule Corporation moments later.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Chapter 6
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