'Face to Face'

Chapter One: Resolve

'There's not much I know about you,

Fear will always make you blind.

But the answer is in clear view,

It's amazing what you'll find face to face.'

Daft Punk: Face to Face

"FINE!" Bulma bellowed furiously, her voice echoing around the Gravity Chamber before she slammed the door shut with surprising strength. Her turquoise hair frizzed around her head, as if in agreement with her foul mood, and she stomped off towards the house, her face a picture of sheer fury. Yamcha watched, stunned and apprehensive, as she stormed past him- murmuring fiercely about 'that arrogant vegetable-head jerk'- and he kept completely still in fear of catching her attention and thus become a victim of her temper. He'd crossed that line before and it wasn't something he would ever deliberately do again.

The door of her house seemed to think the same as it automatically slid open- something Yamcha found it rarely did for him; he often had to wait ten seconds before it would open- and he briefly wondered if Bulma and her father had somehow wired it into doing such things. That thought was instantly vanished from his mind when an almighty blast of light burst out of the windows of the gravity machine and Yamcha hopped backwards in surprise as a ferocious roar followed it. He glanced nervously at Puar, who was hovering at his shoulder tentatively.

"I think Vegeta's angry too!" Puar squeaked, shivering slightly at the thought of the bad-tempered Saiyan.

Yamcha frowned, "That guy is such a jerk. I don't why Bulma lets him stay here. She spends half her time arguing with him and the other half fixing things he's broken and looking after him!" His voice rose angrily at the thought of his humiliation at Vegeta's hands, back when the Saiyan prince had been fighting against them. He clenched his hands into fists, and grit his teeth. "I don't know what Bulma's playing at, but he's bad news."

Puar squeaked again. "Calm down Yamcha!"

Yamcha let out a long breath and nodded, "Yeah, you're right Puar." He glanced over to the Gravity Chamber, "I'll get back to my training. I'll show Vegeta he's not the only one who could save us against those Androids."

Bulma threw herself into the lab and let out a scream of frustration, before flopping onto the worn seat at her desk and groaning. What is that man's problem? All I ever do is help him out and he's such an ass to me! 'Fix this woman!'...'everything you say proves your stupidity'...'I'm going to blow up this pathetic planet and you with it!'...Honestly, he really is the most egotistical, stuck-up, ungrateful git I've ever met!

She lay her head on her arms and ran her fingers through her hair, scowling as her fingers tangled in the wild curls. She didn't know why she ever thought a perm was a good idea, it was a complete mess! She looked like a poodle for heaven's sake! She sighed melodramatically and gazed up at the mirrored ceiling to get a look at herself. She looked a mess. She was tired, pale and her hair seemed to getting wirier and more ridiculous by the minute...I've had enough, I'm not stressing myself out over that jerk again today...I'm going to get some retail therapy!

She stood up and shuffled the papers on her desk into some semblance of order before heading out, picking her purse up on her way out and not bothering to say goodbye to anyone. She wanted some time to herself- and to do that she had to make sure no-one knew where she was or how to reach her. She sighed happily as she slid into her red convertible and started the engine with a cheerful hum before speeding off towards the centre of the city.

Vegeta blasted a ki ball at the bots with an angry growl, before dodging to his left as it bounced off and back towards him. He spun around to face it and blasted another ki ball as it flew towards him, causing a blinding collision- the force of which sent him flying backwards. He regained his balance and flew back, dodging and ducking in mid-air as the bots flung ki balls at him from each of their angles. He kept up this demanding tactic until he felt a ki ball scorch his shoulder and he let out a growl of pain and annoyance before spinning around and releasing a blast of energy from his body. The yellow light boomed around him and hit the bots which such force that they began to melt, and as they dropped to the floor, useless, he dropped with them, crouching low and sucking in gulps of air before letting out another growl as he examined his shoulder. What was wrong with him? He hadn't been hit by the bots since the first few weeks he had started training and now - 13 months in- he'd been hit again. He poked at the burn gingerly and contained a wince of pain; it was sore but he would ignore it. He didn't have time for silly injuries. I need to train non-stop to beat Kakarot and become a Super-Saiyan. He looked at the melted bots and sat down, I'll have to get that blasted woman or her father to make me new ones. Their human technology is too weak against Saiyan strength...not that the woman will ever admit it. She's the stupidest person I've ever met- besides Kakarot- and yet she's a scientific genius...He shook his head and stood up, turning off the gravity and pulling his black top over his head...the female species are such an enigma.

Bulma reached Capsule Corp feeling completely rejuvenated and ready for anything. She parked her car and clicked the boot so it immediately sprang off the car and shrank to the size of a handbag. She grinned and sauntered into the house, swinging the bag and setting it on the table. A cough alerted her to someone else's presence and she spun around to see Vegeta, his brow furrowed and dark eyes glued to her, leaning against the doorway. He raised an eyebrow scornfully when she stared at him in surprise but she ignored it and smiled brightly. "Hello Vegeta, what are you doing in here?"

Vegeta scowled, "Your mood seems to have improved. You're no longer screaming like a harpy."

Bulma rolled her eyes, "What do you want Vegetable Head?"

Vegeta's scowl deepened and he clenched his fists, "Stop calling me that ridiculous name, Woman."

Bulma grinned, she loved winding Vegeta up; loved the moments where she was the one with the quickest wit and she was the one to leave him furious and flustered, "Oh I'll consider it, if you start calling me Bulma." She winked at him cheekily and burst out laughing as his cheeks pinked slightly and he growled low in his throat.

"Blasted woman, stop being such an idiot and just fix those damn bots for me. I've had enough of listening to your stupid babbling."

Bulma frowned, "You could try saying please Vegeta." She tapped the capsule and watched as her shopping sprang out of it, noting Vegeta's incredulity and annoyance with a small smile of triumph.

"I'm the Prince of the Saiyans! I will not say please to a weak earthling who has nothing better to do than go shopping!" he suddenly roared and Bulma swung around to face him, her lively blue eyes boring into his intense black gaze.

"Now look here buddy! I don't care if you're the damn Prince of your stupid monkey race, I'm not going to be bossed around by you anymore! Don't you forget that it was me who helped invent that damn Gravity Chamber and it's me who's letting you use it and it's me who's fixing it up for you!" she bellowed, jabbing her finger into her own chest for emphasis and stomping her foot.

Vegeta's eyes flashed dangerously and he pushed himself off the wall and snarled, "Stupid monkey race? The Saiyans are the most powerful race in the universe! Your pathetic planet is nothing compared to mine! You are nothing compared to me!"

"Ha!" Bulma screamed derisively, "If that's so true then how come your stupid planet has been blown up?!" The moment the words passed her lips she slapped her hands to her mouth in regret. Guilt swarmed her as he glared at her murderously and her eyes widened apologetically. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, that's not..."

"Shut up woman!" he snapped, before barging past her and stomping out of the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that the doorframe crumbled and the door fell out, crashing to the floor with a resounding bang.

Bulma watched him go silently, her hands still at her mouth, and her regret and guilt bubbled to the surface until a small tear escaped her. She let out a little gasp and sat down, putting her head in her hands and feeling so ashamed of herself that she wished that the ground would swallow her up.

Yamcha heard the crash from the back yard and turned, startled, to Puar, who looked equally confused. The back door suddenly burst open and Vegeta stormed out, his energy levels crackling dangerously and his face writ with sheer fury. Instinctively, Yamcha knew that he had been arguing with Bulma- only those two knew how to wind each other up that badly- and he felt a swell of fear and anger grow in his stomach. I don't care how strong Vegeta is, if he hurt Bulma I'll kill him.

He watched as Vegeta slammed the Gravity Chamber door shut and then he headed into the house, listening out for any sounds of distress or pain. He heard nothing. He ran down the corridor and skidded past the living room door, before back-pedalling and noticing Bulma was sat on the sofa, her head in her hands.

"Bulma! Are you ok?" he rushed over and crouched down in front of her.

Bulma looked up wearily, her eyes a little watery, and she let out a small "Oh Yamcha," before another tear escaped her.

Yamcha scowled, "What did he do to you Bulma? Did he hurt you?" he didn't notice the confusion on Bulma's face when he stood up angrily. "I knew it was a bad idea to let him stay here! I knew it! The guy is evil! He's..."

"Shut up Yamcha! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Bulma stood up too, her fists balling up furiously. The tears had disappeared and were replaced with raw anger.

"What? Why are you defending him Bulma?!" Yamcha stepped back, surprise and hurt by her sudden outburst.

"Why are you always blaming him for everything?! Why can't you just leave him alone, huh?!" Bulma threw her hands in the air and glared at Yamcha.

Yamcha's eyebrows shot up. "Leave him alone?!" he spluttered. "Bulma, the guy's a maniac! Why the bloody hell are you defending him?!"

Bulma froze. Why the hell am I defending him? She thought to herself. 'Because you know that he's changing, you know that he never knew any better before...Because you want to defend him'. A small voice whispered in her head and she shook her head furiously before collapsing back down on the couch and putting her head in her hands again.

"I said something horrible to him Yamcha."

Yamcha frowned and watched Bulma's eyes fill with tears again. He felt guilty for yelling at her when she had already been upset. "So what Bulma? He deserved it."

Bulma shook her head, "No he didn't...he doesn't." she sighed again, "Don't you get it Yamcha? He's changing...he didn't know any better before! How do you think any of us would have turned out if we'd have lived like he did?" she looked up at him beseechingly, and though he didn't agree with her- Vegeta isn't changing, he's a cold-hearted git and he'll be that way forever- he couldn't bring himself to disagree. Instead he sat down next to her on the couch and put a soothing hand on her back, ignoring the sudden realisation that this was the first time he'd touched her in a long while. He wasn't sure what they were anymore, but he'd been becoming increasingly aware that he wanted it to be something special, something better than ever before.

Bulma leaned into his touch, revelling in the comfort it offered her. She had missed Yamcha. Even though he had been here, training and living, she'd missed him. Missed being with him. He rubbed at her back slowly and she closed her eyes, before opening them again in pleasant surprise when he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her affectionately against his chest.

A moment later, just as she felt his lips brushing the top of her head, an airy giggle sounded from the doorway. They pulled apart immediately, and looked over to where Bulma's mother was stood, giggling and smiling goofily, carrying a tray of tea and cakes. "Oops. Forgive me, I didn't mean to interrupt." She grinned widely and started to shuffle out of the room.

"No mama, it's ok. Come in." Bulma said tiredly, waving her mother back into the room. Mrs Briefs giggled again.

"Oh, I don't want to intrude."

Yamcha grinned winningly when he saw Bulma blush prettily, "It's ok Mrs B. You're not intruding. Looks like you've got some great cakes there."

Mrs Briefs beamed and Bulma couldn't help but roll her eyes and grin as her mother let out another giggle and came over to them, putting the cakes down and fussing over Yamcha like he was a beloved puppy.

She watched quietly as her mother and Yamcha exchanged friendly chatter and smiled when Yamcha handed her a chocolate éclair. She took a bite out of it and listened idly to Yamcha talking about his training, her thoughts wondering to something completely different. What am I going to do about Vegeta? I should apologise to him really...but he'll never listen. Do I really need to apologise anyway? He's said millions of horrible things to me! She huffed silently. Yes, but you know he doesn't really mean them. He is changing, even if he and no one else knows it. But you do. You've seen it in him. He never knew any better- he spent his entire life being trained to kill, to murder and hate. He's never had true friends before, never known kindness and love. As she popped the last bit of her éclair into her mouth she caught Yamcha's eye and smiled. Well I'm going to teach him it. I'm going to be his friend.

Dr. Briefs sighed tiredly, running a hand over his lavender hair and sliding a much-needed cigarette into his mouth. His stats for the new Gravity Chamber were all wrong. He puffed on his cigarette and sat up, before pushing himself away from his desk and heading towards the elevator. He'd done enough for today; he was tired and he wanted to actually have dinner with his wife and daughter tonight. Perhaps he could even persuade Vegeta to join them? He must have some fascinating stories- a true Saiyan! A Saiyan Prince nonetheless- I wonder what technologies he is used to, perhaps I could pick up a thing or two? He hummed idly as he strode into the hallway, his ears pricking at the sound of voices from the living room. He heard his wife's tinkling laugh and smiled as he rounded the corner and caught sight of her blonde head, nodding along to whatever Yamcha was animatedly saying. Neither saw him at first and so his eyes drifted around the room, resting on his blue haired daughter who was stood at the balcony, a china cup of tea in her hand. She was staring at something intently, and he squinted slightly, eventually catching sight of what seemed to have her attention: Vegeta was training on the lawn.

He smiled slightly and walked into the room, finishing his cigarette contentedly.

"Hey, Dr Briefs!" Yamcha grinned at Bulma's father cheerfully, and raised a hand in salute. Mrs Briefs turned around and smiled delightedly.

"Darling! Are you all done for today? I bought cream cakes!"

Dr Briefs smiled, and kissed her head affectionately, looking up and catching Bulma's eyes as she tore them away from Vegeta in surprise.

"I am. I thought it'd be nice if we had a big dinner tonight." He winked at Bulma and crushed his cigarette on an empty cake wrapper. "You're welcome to join us Yamcha."

Yamcha grinned wider, Perfect- more time with Bulma, "That's great. Thanks."

"I thought perhaps we could invite Vegeta along too," Dr Briefs added, smiling at his wife as she hummed in agreement happily, "What do you think Bulma?"

Bulma nodded thoughtfully, "Sure. That's a good idea." It'll be good for him to socialise more, he needs to work on his people skills. And it gives me more time to observe him and figure him out. She grinned widely, Vegeta's not going to know what hit him...

"Ooh wonderful! He's such a dark horse! We really should spend more time with him- but he's so dedicated to his training!" Mrs Briefs cooed, her voice laced with awe over the Saiyan Prince.

Yamcha scowled but kept quiet. The whole damn family seemed to want Vegeta around! Don't they realise the guy's a damn lunatic?! He watched Bulma as she turned back to the window and realised she was watching Vegeta train. He frowned again, a small worm of worry slithering in his stomach. Why is Bulma so interested in Vegeta anyway? He felt a pang of jealously. Do I have something to worry about here? He shook himself, Nah, don't be stupid, Bulma would never be into Vegeta. But as he turned back to Mrs Briefs to finish his baseball story he couldn't completely rid himself of the unease he was beginning to feel.

After tea and cakes and Yamcha's seemingly endless chatter about baseball- honestly, I don't know why he doesn't just stick with it, he's not a fighter anymore, he's a city boy now. The desert bandit has long gone - Bulma excused herself and headed for the Gravity Chamber, determined to somehow apologise to Vegeta. She rolled her eyes at the thought- I'm apologising to him! - but was settled on her decision nonetheless. There was more to him than everyone thought, she knew that now. When Goku hadn't killed him when he had the chance Bulma had thought he was mad, but now she understood. Vegeta wasn't a villain; he was just lonely and misunderstood. She reached the Gravity Chamber and took a deep breath before knocking on the door loudly. There was no answer, as she had expected, but there was also no rude or angry order for her to go away. She frowned and knocked again, before pressing her ear against the door. Nothing. No sound at all. The windows had been tinted- after Yamcha had been caught watching him train Vegeta had insisted on tinted windows- so she couldn't look through them. Instead she did the unthinkable and logged herself in with the access code; if Vegeta was in there, no doubt he'd lose his rag completely for the interruption but Bulma was determined on making some sort of truce with him before dinner time.

The door slid open easily and Bulma squinted, surprised, into the darkness. He wasn't in there. A swell of panic caused her to rush in suddenly, a horrifying image of a gravely injured Vegeta lying helpless on the floor flooded her mind, and with a terrified squeak she knocked the lights on, "Vegeta!" she cried out, squinting around desperately as the lights flickered.

Finally they turned on, and with them, a flood of relief filled her. He wasn't injured. He simply wasn't in. She shook herself and let out a lungful of air she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Thank Kami he's ok. She leant against the control panel and sighed again. Well now what? He's not here. How can I apologise and invite him to dinner if he's not even here?! She looked around her and noticed melted lumps of twisted metal scattered on the floor and she dropped to her knees to look at them. Oh I forgot his Highness broke the bots again. She chuckled to herself, thinking about her poor father's face when he saw what Vegeta had done to his new bots. Hey! That's an idea! You could fix the bots! It'll be a surprise for him to get them done this quickly...and it can be my truce gift. Vegeta's a man of action rather than words anyway, so maybe this is the way to apologise? What the heck! I'll do up the whole Chamber and show him that we can start anew completely! With a pleased grin, Bulma stood up and tied her hair into a messy bun, vowing to get it cut and styled sometime soon, before connecting to her father on the video-com to get him to send her tools over.

please review and rate :D thanks