Hello, hello everyone!  I'm back and with my promised sequel to You're What?!  Thanks to everyone for their support during my last story.  I'd also like to thank everyone who wished me luck with my move and new job.  This chapter is for you!  I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out, but as you all probably guessed, I've lost track of time due to my new job and just overall adapting to my life in Kentucky.  Hopefully, as I fall more and more into a set schedule I will be able to find more time to write on a consistent basis.  Anyway, I hope you all like the chapter.  There is plenty more where this came from! J

Life's Little Lessons Chapter 1: Reminiscing

            "There you are."  Bulma exclaimed in surprise as she walked into the library and closed the door, heading for the sitting area where her husband was residing.  The blue-haired beauty had been searching for her mate after Trunks had alerted her to the fact that Vegeta had not been the Gravity Room when he had gone to train.  Needless to say, even after all these years, it was unusual for Vegeta not to be training during the middle of the day.  Even more unusual was to find her mate situated in the library.  It was a room he seemed to avoid like the plague, although Bulma truly had no idea why.  Her best guess was that Vegeta just didn't like reading and so he saw this room as completely useless.

The Saiyan Prince sat in one of the old, leather high-backed armchairs, a thick book resting on his lap.  A huge fire was roaring from the fireplace in the center of the room.  The scientist smiled inwardly, Vegeta loved a good fire.  Bulma came up to her husband and sat on the arm of his chair, running her hand through his short, spiky hair, regretting for a fleeting moment that his hair would never return to the wild flame-like mane he'd had for his entire life.  Without looking up at his mate, Vegeta shifted the large album on his lap to the round oak table next to his chair and unceremoniously wrapped his arm around Bulma's waist and dumped her into his lap.  Bulma let out a little squeak of surprise at the abrupt change of position.  Vegeta turned his mate's head toward his and kissed her passionately.  Bulma reached up and cupped his face with one hand, moaning in pleasure.  Slowly, the pair separated, looking into each other's eyes.

"Wow!"  Bulma said breathlessly.  "Hello to you too."  Vegeta gave his mate a classic, trademark smirk before capturing his mate's lips once again.  This time, when they separated Bulma looked at her mate suspiciously.  "Alright, what's going on?  What did you destroy?"  Bulma said with a slight laugh, not being able to hold onto the mock anger she wanted to display. 

"I'm offended, Bulma.  What makes you think I did something wrong?"  Vegeta questioned, gently nipping at Bulma's neck while his free hand slowly made its way up his mate's body to cup one of her still firm breasts.  Bulma let out a low moan and tried in vain to get Vegeta's hands away from her.  However, as any woman knows, a man focused on sexual gratification can seem like he has eight hands.  They appear to be everywhere and there is no stopping them!

"Vegeta," she groaned, half in pleasure, half in annoyance.  How did her husband expect her to answer his question if he kept on touching her as he was?  Then again, Vegeta probably didn't want her to answer the question.  In fact, he probably didn't want Bulma to be talking at all, and it was this fact that made her a little skeptical of Vegeta's behavior.  Granted, it was nothing for the Saiyan Prince to show up in the middle of the afternoon looking to get a little loving, in fact it happened quite often, especially with Bulma no longer acting as the President and CEO of Capsule Corporation.  Vegeta seemed to like taking advantage of Bulma's newfound free time.  However, what was unusual was to find her mate in the middle of the afternoon lounging around in nothing but a pair of his favorite, gray sweatpants reading a book.  No, something was up, and Bulma Briefs was determined to find out what it was; no matter how much her mate may try to distract her.

Bulma quickly shifted in her husbands lap so that she was straddling him, deciding that it was time for her to take the offensive.  Vegeta quirked an eyebrow at his mate's sudden change in position, not that he was complaining.  Bulma placed the warriors calloused hands upon her hips and then promptly ran her hands up her husband's bare chest.  She then slowly started trailing kisses up his neck, making a trail up to his ear before taking his earlobe between her teeth and sucking lightly.  She then ran her tongue along the bottom of his lobe before moving to speak in his ear.  "What are you trying to hide from me, Vegeta?"  She asked seductively, her voice nothing more than a husky whisper.

"Who says I'm hiding anything?"  Vegeta replied in an equally sexy voice, amused at his wife's attempt at pulling information from him.  "I should think it is rather apparent what I want."  The Saiyan monarch stated, once again turning the tables on his mate by taking one of her hands and placing it over the obvious bulge in his pants.  "Dende knows I can't hide that."  Vegeta stated with a wicked smirk.  He loved this game that they played.  Bulma's eyes narrowed at her husband's comment.  She quickly removed her hand from where Vegeta placed it and tapped him on the nose with her pointer finger.

"You know that is not what I meant," the blue-haired scientist stated annoyed.

"You know, I don't think we have ever had sex in this room," Vegeta blurted out, looking around the vast room and completely ignoring Bulma's last comment.

"Vegeta!  Stop changing the subject!"  Bulma clipped out, her anger finally starting to come forth.  She then grabbed Vegeta's chin in her hands and moved his head until he was looking strictly at her.

"I didn't know we were on a subject."  Vegeta quipped back, once again feigning ignorance.  A small smirk graced his features, and a flash of amusement could be seen in the ebony depths of his eyes.

"You are impossible," Bulma stated with a half smile.  Whatever may be wrong, her mate was surely in a somewhat playful mood today.  Pulling away from her mate, Bulma sat up straight and crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the man she had shared her life with for over thirty-five years.  In all these years, he hadn't physically changed one bit thanks to his Saiyan blood.  However, in every other aspect of his life, Vegeta was a far cry from the man he had been a lifetime ago.  After the birth of his daughter, Vegeta had finally accepted the Earth as his home, accepted that he had a family and friends that loved him, and accepted that he didn't need to hide behind the mask of pride he had worn for his entire life.  He saw Bra's birth as an epitome of the second chance he was granted after the whole Buu incident, and he had made sure he took full advantage of that chance.

"You are just realizing that now?"  Vegeta asked with a raised eyebrow.  Bulma let out a decidedly girlish giggle and shook her head.

"No, I've know you to be impossible in every aspect of life since the moment I first laid eyes on you.  I was just stating the fact, in case you weren't aware of it.  It takes a lot of repetition to get some things through that thick, Saiyan skull of yours."  Bulma replied cheekily. 

"Is that so?"  The warrior stated in a calm voice, wrapping both his arms around his mate's waist, effectively holding her in place over his lap.  He then leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.  "One of these days you are going to have to learn to watch your mouth.  It is going to end up getting you in trouble." 

"That's what I was counting on," Bulma whispered in reply, her eyes closing as she closed the distance between them and kissed her husband passionately.  If something was bothering her mate, it couldn't be too serious for him to be acting like he was.  This time when Vegeta's hand snaked around to her front and cupped a breast, Bulma didn't complain.  For now, Bulma was quite content to let her mate continue.  Besides, she knew better than anyone, that if she wanted to get Vegeta to tell her if there was anything upsetting him, he would be much more compliant after being well pleasured.  The retired businesswoman sighed in bliss as she felt her husband's lips descend once again upon her throat.  Giving up on her mission for the moment, Bulma tilted her head back exposing more of her throat to her eager mate and surrendered to the sensations running through her.

Vegeta held his mate securely on top of his chest, gently running his hand through the short silk of her hair.  The light from the fire, that had died down considerably during the time he and his mate had been in the room, flickered across her face.  The shadows that resulted from the flickering light gave his mate's natural beauty a more unearthly look.  He could not think of a time where Bulma seemed more stunning than when she peacefully slept after their lovemaking.  Almost as though she could tell she was being scrutinized, Bulma let out a small, content sigh and snuggled up closer to her mate.  A particularly loud pop emanated from the dying fire and echoed throughout the large room, causing the woman in his arms to stir.

"Hello," she said sleepily, giving her husband's chest a light kiss.  She then moved off Vegeta's chest to rest beside the love of her life on the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace.  After making love on the chair where they started, the couple had moved to the soft fur rug for the remainder of the afternoon.  Snuggling up against her husband's side, Bulma looked up at Vegeta and smiled.  "I think we have now conquered the entire house," Bulma stated, her voice still thick with sleep.  Vegeta smirked, knowing exactly what his mate was talking about.

"I'm only surprised it took us so long to get around to this room," Vegeta replied as he slipped an arm around his mate. 

"Vegeta," Bulma asked softly, "what were you doing in here anyway?  You never come in this room, that's why we have never gotten to try out this gorgeous rug."  The blue-haired beauty finally voiced the question she had been wondering since she first found Vegeta in the room hours ago.  Vegeta let out a low growl.

"Woman, why must you know everything?"  He asked slightly annoyed.  Bulma shrugged.

"You know me: curious as a cat."  She replied nonchalantly, not fazed at all by Vegeta's slightly darkening mood.

"Well, you certainly purr like one," the Saiyan responded with an evil smirk, once again skirting the question at hand. 

"You are not one to talk," Bulma shot back with a laugh.  She then playfully slapped Vegeta's arm.  "Now, stop avoiding my question, because you know I won't stop asking."  Vegeta let out a groan.  He knew his wife was right.  She would keep on asking her blasted question until he finally just broke down and answered her just to stop her nagging.

"Fine.  If it will make you shut up, I'll tell you," Vegeta clipped out, more harshly than he would have liked.  Bulma pulled away, at least as much as she could while still trapped within his iron grip.

"Nevermind," she stated, hurt heard clearly in her voice, "I don't need to know if you are going to get all pissy about it."  She then attempted to pull out of her mate's grasp to no avail.  "Let me go Vegeta, I want to leave."  Instead of heeding her request, Vegeta tightened his hold and brought his mate flush against his body. 

"Bulma, I didn't mean to be so harsh."  Vegeta began, his voice a little gruff.  No matter how much he had changed over the years, he still hated admitting when he was wrong.  Bulma nodded slightly and then looked at her husband expectantly, waiting for him to continue.  "If you truly must know why I was in here, I was looking at one of the family albums."  Bulma's eyes widened at Vegeta's embarrassed confession.  Vegeta never looked at the photo albums Bulma had carefully put together over the years.

"Why," Bulma stammered breathlessly, "why were you looking at the albums?  Is everything ok?  It is not like you to be sentimental."  She rambled, her mind immediately thinking that something was wrong with her mate.

"Quit acting like I am dying or something, because I am not.  I've got plenty of years left in me."  Vegeta said with a small smirk, shaking his head slightly at his mate's ability to always think of the worst. 

"Then why look at the book?  You've never shown an interest in them before."  Bulma asked, this time being the one who was harsh sounding.

"Just because you do not normally see me look at the album does not mean that I have never taken the time to glance through them when no one is around."  Vegeta answered bluntly.  For the second time in two minutes, Bulma's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm sorry Vegeta.  I didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't care."  A silence fell over the pair, only the occasional popping from the fire was the only sound to be heard.  Finally, Bulma rested her head back on her husband's shoulder.  "So, why were you looking at the album today, Vegeta?"  Bulma asked quietly after a few minutes had past.  Vegeta let out a shuddering sigh, a sure sign that he was about to admit something grave.

"I'm losing her."  The proud self-proclaimed Earthling answered in a low voice.  By the time the last word had escaped his lips, Bulma's head had shot up so that she could look at her husband. 

"Oh Vegeta," Bulma whispered, her voice conveying her concern.  She shifted so that she could cup his cheek in her hand.  "You are not losing Bra."

"She's getting married isn't she?"  Vegeta shot back as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Just because she is getting married and will be starting her own life does not mean that you are losing her.  She has always been and will forever be daddy's little girl.  You may not be able to see her as much as you do now, but she is not abandoning us."  Bulma then gave her mate a small, chaste kiss.  Pulling back, Bulma smiled at her lover.  "Besides Vegeta, she isn't moving that far way, just to the other side of the compound.  You could be there in one minute flat!"

"I suppose," Vegeta answered back with a small smirk, feeling somewhat better.  He still did not like the idea of his princess getting married.  No man was good enough for her.  Granted, Trunks had gone off and gotten married a few years ago, but that was different.  He wasn't supposed to protect his son.  Being a male, Trunks would naturally be the predator and would pick a fine mate.  However, Saiyan Princess or no, Bra was still a woman and as such she was the one hunted by men.  And Vegeta was all too aware of the pains a man would go through to capture their prey, after all, he was a man.  It was because of this knowledge that Vegeta felt so protective of the beautiful woman his daughter had become.  Dende knows, Vegeta scared off scores of men attempting to woo his daughter, most likely into their beds.  Yet, despite his best efforts, Bra had allowed her self to be captured and would soon be a mated woman.  True, Vegeta couldn't think of a better man to take over the reigns of protecting his pride and joy, but that didn't mean he had to like it. 

Vegeta train of thought was broken when his mate suddenly got up and walked over to the chair where their escapade this afternoon began.  Reaching over onto the table, Bulma grabbed the thick leather bound album that was resting upon the worn wood.  Cradling the book against her bare chest, Bulma came back over to the dark, fur rug and sat down next to her husband.  She placed the album down on the rug next to Vegeta's head.  Then, opening it up, Bulma lay down on her stomach and flipped it open to the first page.  Vegeta watched his mate's face breakout into the brilliant smile that always warmed his heart as she beheld the first photo.  It was the snapshot taken in the hospital when Bulma had first awoken from her hysterectomy: their first picture as a family of four.  To Bulma it held another significance, for this was the first and only time that Vegeta had admitted his love for her in words.

"Oh Vegeta," Bulma exclaimed in joy.  "It seems like only yesterday that our baby girl was born."  She turned to look at Vegeta.  "Don't you want to look at the book?  Does it really bother you that I am here?"

"No Bulma, it doesn't bother me.  You are the only person I would ever consider doing this with."  Vegeta said seriously, turning over so that he likewise was on his stomach and able to view the pictures lining the pages.  Bulma flashed another smile at her husband and moved in to kiss him full on the lips: gods how she loved this man.  Vegeta reluctantly pulled away before he ended up taking his wife again, knowing that was not what she wanted at the moment.  Smiling shyly at her mate, not used to reminiscing with him, Bulma flipped the page.  As Vegeta's eyes roamed over the images before him, he felt as though he was being taken back in time.  The memories were as clear as if they had occurred yesterday.  Feeling a slight pang in his heart, knowing that his daughter had grown up much too fast, Vegeta listened to the calming sound of his mate's voice as she recalled the various moments of his daughter's life.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Ok, I know this chapter wasn't too exciting, but it is just setting up the rest of the story.  I think the first chapter is always the hardest to write since it sets the tone for the rest of the story.  I hope you all liked it.  Anyway, thanks again for everyone's patience.  I promise that the next chapter will not take as long to come out.  Oh, and by the way, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you who celebrate it…I know I do!

Until Next Time…